ONLINE DISCUSSION: EXPECTATIONS AND INTERVENTIONS Marc Thompson, Ph.D., Instructional Designer, Academic Outreach, University of Illinois

Your Experiences?  What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from your experiences with online discussion?  What interventions or adjustments did you make as a result of what you learned?

Background  Introduction to Fiction--online redesign of F2F course  Summer 2000 development timeframe  Average class enrollment = students

Faculty Perceptions and Concerns  lack of interaction  one-sided interaction  missing the spontaneity of F2F exchange  lack of student motivation to participate actively

Initial Plan for Online Discussion  WebBoard for discussion board with WebCT LMS  4-8 discussion questions per week + Open Forum  Weekly deadline (midnight Sunday)  Posting Requirements: 2 direct responses, 2 replies, 2 Open Forum postings  Posting Criteria: a well-developed paragraph with clear thesis and support

Results and Interventions ResultsAdjustments Student concern over grades and quality of postsWeekly assessment & individual feedback as needed via “Clumping Effect” near posting deadlineBi-weekly posting deadlines to facilitate replies “Capstone Effect” in some threadsRestraint, attentiveness, and nerves of steel Lack of substantive reply postings (roughly 40%)Guidelines Guidelines with sample postings and commentarysample postings and commentary Lack of originality (roughly 25%)Clear criteria and grading rubriccriteria grading rubric

Legitimizing Interpretation  No “right or wrong” answers per se  Responses are often an expression of personal judgment about some aspect of the stories read  Not testing factual knowledge but the ability to think critically and creatively about the stories read  Impressionistic responses are distinguished from informed judgments on the basis of how well judgments are supported and illustrated

Using Sample Postings with Commentary  Examples that lack detail, clear purpose, or support  Examples with purpose that are detailed and well supported  How to move beyond head nodding and back patting  How to extend another student’s line of questioning or interpretation  How to express a difference of opinion respectfully  How to raise questions that advance discussion or provoke further thought

Online Discussion Criteria  PURPOSE Does the thesis express a clear and specific purpose? Are responses to the questions specific or do they veer away from the question and lose focus?  SUPPORT Does the posting use specific and carefully chosen details and examples from the text to help support or illustrate the comment or question? (NOTE: Vague or largely impressionistic responses will receive no credit.)  DEVELOPMENT Does the posting exhibit an organized progression of thought that advances a particular judgment, claim, or question raised in the thesis?  ORIGINALITY Does the comment or question merely echo what other classmates have already said in that discussion thread, or does the posting acknowledge what others have said thus far and use that information as a point of departure for further exploration.  CORRECT FORM Is the comment or question free of distracting typos, misspelled or missing words, and grammatical problems? If quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing, does the author of the comment or question refer readers to the relevant page number(s) in the text?

Rubric CRITERIANeeds Much Improvement (0 points) Needs Improvement (1 point) Good--Room for Improvement (2 points) Meets Expectations for an A (3 points) Exceptional Work (4 points) PurposeMain point is not clear Vague in places; does not respond fully or directly to the prompts Purpose is evident; responds directly to prompt with only minor loss of focus Purpose is clear and specific; responds fully and directly to the prompt Purpose is exceptionally clear and specific; responds fully and directly to the prompt SupportClaims are not supported Details, examples, and personal experiences are seldom used to support observations and judgments Details, examples, and personal experiences are used but could be more clearly related to the observations and judgments Uses details and examples from the texts and/or personal experience to support clearly all observations and judgments Exceptional use of telling details and examples from the text and/or personal experience to support and illustrate all observations and judgments. OriginalityMerely echoes what one or more students have already said without advancing the discussion Several similarities with other postings; does not acknowledge what others have said thus far Occasional similarities with other postings; some effort made to acknowledge and build upon others’ ideas Builds on what others have said and uses that as a point of departure for further exploration and discussion Builds on what others have said and uses that as a point of departure to introduce a new, relevant idea or perspective in the discussion

Rubric (continued) CRITERIANeeds Much Improvement (0 points) Needs Improvement (1 point) Good--Room for Improvement (2 points) Meets Expectations for an A (3 points) Exceptional Work (4 points) DevelopmentIdeas are not developed to any degree Does not exhibit an organized progression of thought that advances a specific judgment or claim. Overall progression of thought is evident, though not always clear at every juncture Exhibits an organized progression of thought that advances a specific judgment or claim in response to the prompt Exhibits a highly organized progression of thought that leads readers to valid conclusions in the broader discussion context of the entire thread FormDifficult to read or understand owing to the number of typos, misspelled words, and/or grammatical problems. More than 3 distracting typos, misspelled or missing words or grammatical problems. Quotation, paraphrase, or summary does not give the relevant page number(s) No more than 3 distracting typos, misspelled or missing words or grammatical problems. Quotation, paraphrase, or summary does not always give the relevant page number(s) Free of distracting typos, misspelled or missing words and grammatical problems. Quotation, paraphrase, or summary always refers readers to the relevant page number(s) Free of distracting typos, misspelled or missing words and grammatical problems. Quotation, paraphrase, or summary always refers readers to the relevant page number(s). Careful word choice and sentence structure help make your point engaging and provocative.

What I Learned about Facilitating Online Discussion  Resist the temptation to intervene too frequently.  Summarize key points where appropriate.  Highlight particularly effective postings.  Offer individual guidance privately by , rather than via the discussion board.  Reorient discussion if focus has drifted off topic.  Choose questions and activities that invite further discussion rather than a finite response.