Policies/Guidelines/Tools
Orientation/Introduction
Communication
Management
Direct Instruction
Discussion/Collaboration
Assessment/Feedback
Additional Resources
Student Success Strategies
Glossary and Resources
Tips/Strategies/Techniques
Self Evaluation
Discussion and Collaboration Policy, Guidelines, and Tools
Discussion and Collaboration Standards
- The learning activities promote the achievement of the stated learning objectives
- Learning activities foster instructor‐student, content‐student, and if appropriate to the course, student‐student interaction
- The requirements for student interaction are clearly articulated
Strategies and Ideas
I have a few ideas pertaining to how I might incorporate discussion forums into a course to foster patrticipation and interaction among students. I doubt very seriously that I would employ synchronous discussion because I feel that it would be very hard for everyone to be available at a certain time due to other responsibilities they might have. Therefore, I would only use an asynchronous format for discussions.
Because I plan to teach on the college level, I am not sure that I would make discussion participation a requirement. I am still undecided. I feel that a discussion forum should be a place to interact with and learn from each other without having to be a stressful task and I don't feel that they should be more important than the assigned class projects. I want discussion forums to be available to students in terms of helping each other or for obtaining support from me as an instructor. I would also most likely require participation in an introductory discussion forum so that I and the students can learn a little about each other. Another idea I have for including discussion forums would be for students to acquire bonus points to make up for points they may have lost on other class projects.
I'm not saying that I would completely rule out discussion participation as a requirement. If I were to require participation in discussions, I would be the one starting the discussion by asking a question pertaining to the topic of the week. However, I would also encourage students to start discussion topics based on the topic of the week as they sit fit; especially if it is something that pertains to the weekly topic that they would like to share with the rest of the class in hopes of receiving feedback. Required weekly discussion would run from Sunday to Sunday. The following discussion policy is one I might use for weekly discussions that would require participation.
Discussion Policy:
- Each student is required to compose one post in each weekly discussion thread.
- Each post must be a minimum of 100 words.
Initial required post is worth up to 5 points, as follows:
- 1 point for preparation - post clearly indicates the student has completed research and is prepared to explain/discuss with others.
- 3 point for communication - post is written clearly, offers feedback relevant to the discussion topic. Facts are distinguishable from opinion. Articulation is clear.
- 1 point for professionalism - post demonstrates respect and professionalism among facilitator and peers.
Bonus Point Opportunities:
1 bonus point is available per discussion thread and can be gained by including either an APA citation or a link to a useful resource pertaining to the topic at hand.