1. How can I manage discussions without them
managing me?
While moderating online discussions will take
time, here are some hints for keeping the discussions manageable:
- Establish the guidelines for posting to the
list, e.g., attempt to keep postings no more than one screen
in length.
- Don't respond to every posting from every student.
- Decide on what your role will be for a particular
discussion, let the students know, and then follow through.
For example, you may wish to simply lurk, play the devil's
advocate, or facilitate the conversation.
- Assign roles to the students, e.g., discussion
leader, facilitator, summarizer.
If you want to brainstorm ideas for managing your
particular online discussions, contact Donna Raleigh (836-5162,
draleigh@uwec.edu) or
Kathy Finder (836-2654, finderks@uwec.edu).
2. How should I structure questions to stimulate
discussions in the classroom?
Although complete books have been written on this
subject, here is a brief, summarizing answer. Open-ended questions
tend to garner more discussion than do closed questions. Also,
divergent questions (those for which there are multiple answers)
fare better than do convergent questions (those for which there
is a particular answer). Questions that require students to
reflect on their prior knowledge and then respond to a topic,
or questions that allow students to "discover" or
mold new knowledge (even if the same knowledge has been discovered
previously) prove effective.
3. How can I facilitate better student discussion
in my classes?
First, it's important to create a safe environment
where all student voices are valued and respected. It helps
to give student's ownership, responsibility, and accountability
for the discussions. An example of ownership would be allowing
the students to help write the discussion questions; an example
of responsibility is to assign a role such as discussion leader
to the students. You can make students accountable for the discussion
by requiring a report to the full group or by having them write
a summarizing statement of the discussion. Also, if you are
asking a question of the whole group, provide some "thinking"
time before requiring an answer or have students jot down a
couple of notes so they have a reference for their comments.
When students ask questions, you might paraphrase the question
and perhaps ask it of another student or open it for the whole
class.
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