Fourteenth International Conference on e-Learning & Innovative Pedagogies

Abstract

Discussions are a method for measuring seat time for online activity, but regularly fail to fully engage students or stimulate critical thinking. They are often perceived as routine and obligatory. When students are engaged through meaningfully interaction (i.e. social learning) and high level synthesis, the results are a connected community of learners that achieve outcome mastery. Where discussion can be improved begins with the design and pedagogy. While maintaining proper curriculum alignment of learning outcomes through program outcomes, discussion assignments can shift the focus of the task from reflections of assignment readings to synthesis and application of critical thinking – mirroring more of a Socratic method common in face-to-face classroom discussion activities. Although online discussion formats tend to be fixed and methodic in structure, the reality is that discussions should in fact be designed specifically to meet the needs of the learning objectives and reflect the content and outcomes of the course.This session presents various tools, techniques, and novel approaches for integrating stellar online discussions in your courses based on research conducted at Pacific Oaks College and The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, which compared traditional models of online discussion boards with avant-garde approaches to improving student interaction as a means to effectively build an online community within the classroom, help to foster student engagement, and enhance teaching and learning. We discuss several examples of novel approaches to online discussions, review the analysis of the discussion format efficacy, and offer recommendations based on our findings.