E-Coaching Tip 4: Managing and Evaluating Discussion Postings

This e-coaching tip continues the topic working with discussion questions in your online course. Last week's tip and FAQ focused on the characteristics and topics of good questions, such as being open-ended, exploratory, and questions requiring students to "inquire within" about what they currently believe and 'know.' This week's three-question FAQ focuses on managing discussion boards -- including a hint on how to engage students more intimately in the process of discussions.

For more ideas and hints, you might want to explore a topic on Managing Learner-Instructor Interaction and Feedback at a site created by the Teaching and Learning Technology group at Penn State University --

http://tlt.psu.edu/suggestions/research/interaction.shtml

Be sure to note the hints -- both in the FAQ and at this site on how to engage students in the peer-to-peer interaction and as a faculty member "step back" and let the students take the lead in some of the discussions. Also, you might want to explore having the grading of the discussions be a two-step process, where the students either evaluate their own posting or those of their peers first.

Next week's message will provide a framework for thinking about faculty's role and how it changes throughout the various phases of an online course.

We hope you find a nugget of an idea that may prove insightful to you. If you find something useful and have a minute, write to Judith and Rita and ecoach@designingforlearning.info.

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E-Coaching Tips

Success Tip 4: Online Discussions -- Part Three of Three: Managing and Grading the Discussions

10. How do I manage/oversee/direct discussion board postings?

Using discussion boards creates a new set of communication patterns. On the positive side, this is an opportunity for the faculty member to step back and observe and monitor the discussions. Reading and evaluating student postings provides a window into a student's knowledge structure. The state of a student's conceptual development becomes very clear, sometimes wonderfully so, and sometimes painfully so. But it is a way of seeing "mind-to-mind" rather than simply "eyeball-to-eyeball." Thus it can be many times more effective than a classroom discussion.

So, how do you manage and oversee discussion boards postings? Here are three basic models of which the variations are infinite.

One mode is quite basic and straightforward. "student to faculty" and "faculty to student" communication. In this basic mode, students respond to one or more related questions, and you, the faculty, review and analyze the responses and write a summary of those responses.
This second mode creates another communication pattern -- that of peer-to-peer communications. In this mode, students read, respond and post responses to other students. This establishes communication strands in which the faculty member is more of a coach and observer, ensuring that students are on track, confirming what is going on, but not actively being in the forefront. To maintain the "virtual presence," the faculty member can still add comments in wrapping up the discussion at the end of the week, or making comments on the summary.
The third mode often can be used with students who are experienced and mature online learners. In this mode, students work as teams, to review and analyze and stimulate thinking. In this mode, students often act as surrogate faculty, summarizing, monitoring, and tracking responses.

11. How do I ensure that students participate in the discussion board activities?

You can ensure that students do not participate by not requiring them to participate. How you grade discussions and how many points are allocated to discussion postings and participation is something that needs to be part of your overall grading plan. If you are just starting out, you can start by providing "bonus" points, but it is highly recommended to move quickly to the required mode.

12. How do I grade discussions? How many points should be allocated?

Here is a rubric to get you started. Notice that both time, quantity and content factor into the points earned. You might also provide more points for students who might take an active role, such as evaluator or summarizer.

Timely and quantitative discussion contributions

Excellent:

* 3-4 postings per discussion, well distributed throughout the week with first posting occurring mid-week.

Good:

* 2-3 postings per discussion, postings distributed throughout the week with first posting occurring before the weekend

Average:

* 1-2 postings per discussion, somewhat distributed with first posting occurring on the weekend

Poor:

* 0-1 postings per discussion, not distributed throughout the week with postings occurring on the weekend

Responsiveness to discussion and demonstration of knowledge and understanding gained from assigned reading

Excellent: Very clear that readings were understood and ideas were incorporated well into responses

Good: Clear that readings were understood and incorporated into responses

Average: Postings have questionable relationship to reading material or topic under discussion

Poor: No evidence that that readings were understood and/or not incorporated into discussion

Adherence to on-line protocols as described in section one

Excellent: All on-line protocols were followed

Good: One (1) online protocol was not adhered to

Average: Two-three (2-3) online protocols were not adhered to

Poor: Four or more online protocols were not adhered to

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