Teaching Strategies: Managing Discussion Strategies

What if you pose a question and no one responds? How do you get conversation started and establish bonds that keep people interested? What aspects of discussion are conducive to learning?

Create an informal area, such as an online café or lounge, where students can engage in friendly and casual conversation in order to get to know each other on a more personal level, which can in turn facilitate more active discussion posts.

Offer creative methods for introductions that can be useful to the entire class. For example, have students provide a description of the relationship between the online learning environment and their work or volunteer activities.

Create a Q & A forum where administrative questions or questions about process and general content can be posed for all students to gain insight.

Lay down the rules of netiquette and discussion postings. A sample list might include the following expectations:

Be clear to who you are replying. Use names.
Be brief while being clear.
Don't simply say "I agree" or "thanks." Instead, send a personal message directly to the person you agree with or want to thank. Keep the primary discussion area as content-rich as possible.
If you disagree with a student, that is okay, but keep the discussion respectful just as you would in a face-to-face situation. Controversy and exchange of opinion are excellent opportunities for learning and growth if done respectfully.
Keep private comments private. Use e-mail for messages between two students.

Starting the Dialogue

How you begin a discussion, and the way you frame a question, will impact student responses. Be aware that student involvement and ownership of any discussion can make it more successful.

Make the learning personally relevant by allowing students to relate and apply coursework to student needs, interests, and to their workplace or life experience.

Encourage open-ended questions to start and then encourage questions and dialogue within the group. Encourage negotiation within the group by beginning the process.

Start a conversation. Communications Professor David Neumann finds that collaboration begins best with a conversation. "The most important thing for successful student team projects is setting up specific communication expectations early, supply online icebreaker exercises, give students a chance to participate in the course before assigning teams, checking in to group conferences to make sure interaction is healthy," says Neuman. "But the most powerful method for motivating students to engage in group projects or any other form of online interaction is to have a conversation with them. I have found that creating this type of personal connection, even if only once, is extremely important."

Use relevant breaking news to start conversations about course topics. A timely article, particularly one that is somewhat controversial, will engage the class in discussion. Debrief the discussion with some follow-up questions about opinions that changed or were reinforced and the relationship of the article to course content.

Ask an open-ended question with a specific objective. Require a reference to source material upon which to base the commentary. An element of controversy or divergent opinion will engage people in discussion.

Bring in guest "speakers" who answer questions posed by students. Ask students to interview experts in the field and post their summary comments and highlight the aspects of the interview important to the learning experience.

Frame questions to elicit the content and style the topic requires. For example:

If you ask, "What are your thoughts?" replies will be casual opinion, not based on texts or sources.
If you ask, "Define three elements of X," replies will be structured, brief, based on the text.
If you ask, "Contrast X with Y and analyze the differences with respect to z, citing sources" replies will be structured, containing critical thinking, citing sources.

Giving Feedback

Give students feedback on their discussion contributions. Students expect timely and direct feedback, but it should not always be posted publicly. A message of praise or a message with pointers for improvement should be sent privately, while messages explaining or contributing to course content should be added to the course discussion. An example:

Student X posts a thoughtful question about the topic.
Student Y gives an excellent response synthesizing previous discussion and readings. (Instructor may send a private email to Y praising the thought behind the post.)
The Instructor posts a comment saying that Y has provided thoughtful commentary and asking what else can be added/ what do the authorities on the topic have to say?

Seeding the Discussion

Don't just request a post. Start a debate, ask for a critique, expect an interview, establish a panel discussion, provide a reflection, solve a problem, ask an open-ended question that requires thought and research. For example:

Instructor posts a question: "What insights have you gained about this topic now that you have studied the divergent viewpoints of Author A and Author B? Which author's position is more compelling? Explain why."
Student X posts a message describing the viewpoints of the two authors but does not offer any new insights or explanations.
Instructor sends an email to X asking him to provide insights rather than description.

Redirecting the Discussion

Discussions often go off on tangents. Try re-stating what someone said earlier that may have been ignored. Ask for interpretations and criticism of the original topic. Ask someone in the group to re-focus the discussion. Here's an example of a redirect by the instructor:

Student X posts a good definition of the issue with references to readings.
Student Y posts a related comment about a similar situation in her workplace.
Student Z posts a sympathetic message and adds her own story (concern begins about going off on a tangent).
Student Y posts a question about student Y's workplace (this is definitely off on a tangent now- time to redirect).
The Instructor mentions that student Y's story is valuable and points out that the central issue has not yet been covered. "Look at page 70 in the text. What does the author suggest and how would you change or improve on this recommendation?"

Require Active Participation

Expect students to act as discussion leaders. Charge students with finding new resources or information and offering an analysis or critique of their content.

Student X says I'm taking the role of discussion leader for this topic. I've attached a link to a web site I think offers an analysis different from the text. I have my own opinions, which I'll share. Do you think the analysis on that site is valid?
The Instructor sends email to student X expressing appreciation for finding the web site.
After a few days of discussion, it is clear that student Y is not participating. Instructor sends a message to student Y asking her to participate in discussion.

Establish the Type of Discussion You Expect

Types of discussion include:

Argumentative discussion in the form of debates or advocacy for a point of view. Assign groups to debate or take on an advocate's role. Challenge the groups to come up with a consensus opinion or a set of divergent viewpoints with valid justification for each view. All opinions must be backed up by data or by authorities on the topic.
Goal-directed discussion and exchange around the topic or inquiry.
Assign groups or individuals to describe a topic fully, making contributions to a final repository of knowledge and exchange. The class might create, as a final goal--a glossary of terms, a set of clearly defined concepts, various existing analyses of an issue.

Sharpening the Focus

Use critical thinking strategies. To keep dialogue from being shallow or diffuse, sharpen the focus of the discussion or get students to dig deeper.

Sharpening the focus includes:

Identifying direction: Refocus discussion by rephrasing certain parts of the dialogue, or by weaving in new ideas. Look for common elements, define terms and establish options for direction.
Sorting ideas for relevance: Not all ideas are equal. Get the group engaged in deciding which ideas have the most importance. Instructor remains neutral while framing the different views and approaches for student comment.
Focusing on key points: Highlight the most important ideas and connections and potential meanings. You can remain neutral, allowing the students to take stands and offer experiences while you mediate, observe and reflect.

Deepening the Dialogue

Deepening the dialogue includes:

Full-spectrum questioning included five strategies:
- answer "so what?"(how important, urgent, interesting)
- clarify meaning, reduce ambiguity and ensure that concepts are shared
- explore assumptions, rationale and sources
- identify cause/effect, systemic /external, long-term/short-term, best/worse case, correlations, context, who is affected, how effect may be altered.
- consider appropriate action, who can be involved, what plan will be effective, what conditions need to be changed, when action should take place.
Making connections: Shift a discussion that has grown stale to gain a new perspective on assumptions or approach to commonly held beliefs. Offer different interpretations, invite investigation into alternative ideas.
Honoring multiple perspectives: Ask students to find patterns, and state different responses to an issue and remain neutral to gain new levels of understanding of the complexities. Offer explorations of commonly held beliefs and challenge the group to consider one another's ideas in greater depth.