21 Ways To Structure An Online Discussion, Part 1

This is yet another reason why supportive learning cultures are so vital. Online learners should know that their opinions matter and that their ideas are welcomed. This discussion strategy can easily be modified to fit online formats. To modify the fishbowl discussion virtually, teachers can use this digital Socratic Seminar Google resource to help students engage in a meaningful, socially-distanced or Zoom classroom conversation.

3 Follow-up Questions

You could also host a few different options for students’ discussions, such as posting on their blog (or another asynchronous medium) or offering “live” discussions where students can join a WebEx and discuss their ideas. They could choose which way to complete the discussion assignment. Provide a rubric or other evaluation tool that details the evaluation process. When students know exactly how they will be evaluated they tend to live up to those expectations. Evaluation tools help foster effective discussion by decreasing student anxiety and defensiveness.

Subscribing to receive email alerts of new postings can help participants keep up with a conversation without checking back into the discussion forum repeatedly. You can configure the tool to receive alerts whenever a new post appears, or receive a daily summary of the posts. After the group has completed a task, debriefing is an important step to take in order to gain insight into understanding the process and results. Debriefing can help adjust teaching styles, indicate areas that need more work or revisiting in the future, and provide valuable feedback for all involved.

Show Students How To Participate

However, the success of online discussions depends on well-structured facilitation, engagement strategies, and technology integration. These tutorials, help sheets, and vocabulary lists can also be posted online in the discussions or learning management system (LMS) where the discussions will take place, allowing for a quick review by students when necessary. Finally, create a glossary of terms in the course, which will be essential so that students can refer often to it when unsure of the language used in the forums. Students claim higher satisfaction in courses that have higher instructor presence and availability (Picciano, 2002; Richardson & Swan, 2003;  Shea, Li, & Pickett, 2006;  Blau, 2009). Engaging in class discussions should also involve brainstorming activities to help generate new ideas, pinpoint areas of interest and explore how multiple perspectives can offer a broader view of the topic discussed.

Once students are prepared with the EQ, any smaller sub questions, and the texts, it’s time to invite them into the discussion. Once you have your question written, you’ll need to find texts that all speak to the question, and the more variety, the better! A novel study, art, TED Talks, poetry, and nonfiction are all texts that students can read and interpret ahead of time and then bring into the seminar discussion when it’s time. Socratic Seminar might be one of the most important instructional discussion strategies that an ELA teacher can learn and implement in her classroom.

However, before expecting students to know how to have these kinds of discussions, Staci and her students examine the impact of types of questions and responses. For many instructors, it’s the real-time reactions, evident in people’s faces and postures, that lends energy to a class discussion. By requiring live video, however, we are asking to insert ourselves into potentially private spaces. If a student feels self-conscious about their visible surroundings, they may feel less comfortable contributing to the discussion. Video may also overload a student’s bandwidth if their equipment and connection are not ideal. If attending to multiple channels of communication feels overwhelming, you can request chat participation at specific times instead of constantly monitoring throughout the meeting.

Meaningful online discussions can also help you assess learning comprehension and research the strengths and weaknesses of your eLearning course design. In fact, one of the advantages of online discussions, social media groups, and other collaboration tools is their versatility. The possibilities are endless when it comes to their eLearning applications. Online discussions are an integral part of most hybrid courses; they are the essence of the online-hybrid portion of the class. When you write in online discussions, it is like you are ‘talking’ in a regular classroom.

• It is recommended that discussion is between 10 to 40 percent of total grade.
• Optional warm-up activities can also help students become more familiar with the discussion topic.
• Essential Questions are questions that guide units of study and illicit genuine curiosity and further inquiry from students (check out this blog post for a head start or her course to learn more!).
• Describe how they’ll discuss (i.e. one speaks for one minute, the other speaks for one minute, and both discuss together for a minute).

A good and preferred teaching strategy is providing opportunities for application of new information to students’ personal and professional lives. Discussion questions of this character can also allow everyone to demonstrate what they know and let others learn from them. To be successful in a group discussion, the participants should possess strong communication skills, non-verbal behavior, the ability to follow group norms, decision-making skills, and show cooperation.

Whether teaching ELA remotely or in person, Ashley Bible of Building Book Love makes it a point to provide ample opportunity for shy students to thrive. One of her go-to silent discussion strategies is a Color-Coded Conversation using a shared document. Each of these silent discussion tech tools provides an avenue for students Wingtalks reddit at home to be engaging with students at school. And, when all students are in the classroom together, they provide intentional avenues to give each student ownership and a voice in the discussion. When students are invited to choose how they engage with one another, they’re more likely to participate meaningfully. Providing options supports different communication styles, learning preferences, and comfort levels—especially in online environments where some students may hesitate to unmute or speak up.

This year many schools and organizations have had to move to digital learning. One way to adjust socratic seminars to an online setting is to use props, or Google slides with an interactive “open” team pack feature. To involve all students, have each student take a turn as a moderator or guest speaker. Three different roles (speaker, moderator, and audience) can be used to keep things fresh and interesting. In every classroom, there are students who always have their hand raised to participate, and those who are hesitant to engage.

The slides are easy to monitor in real time using the Grid View in Google Slides. This allows teachers to see the overall discussion activity in one single view and check in on groups that may need additional prompting. You can learn more and grab Shana’s free note taker templates here. While students are having a discussion either in person or online, non-verbal participants can be talking via the backchannel chat. I recommend – if possible – having two screens so that you can view students’ faces on one (if you have students at home) and the backchannel chat on another.

This advice applies to any learning activity, of course, but in this case it’s important to attend to the unique aspects of the virtual format. Do you want students to use the “raise hand” feature to be called on? Even basic expectations such as self-muting can make virtual discussions go much more smoothly. Teachers are likely accustomed to seeing many faces looking back at them, but for students, the interface may feel disorienting and intimidating.

As the teacher, you have control over which strategy is best for your situation. Sometimes, you might want to combine the two approaches by preloading a face-to-face discussion with an online one. This allows everyone some valuable, private think time before sharing out in person. We’ve all been a part of a discussion that didn’t really feel like a discussion, right? One person — or just a few people — monopolized all the discussion space, leaving LOTS of people’s voices unheard. Are you asking your students to master the APA style guide this term?

Finally, providing small treats such as food and drink can make the whole experience far more enjoyable, and fostering a relaxed atmosphere is important for any effective group discussion. During the discussion, the goal should also be to build trust and show respect among your peers. Sign up for our weekly newsletter and be the first to receive access to best practice teaching strategies, grab-and-go lessons, and downloadable templates for grades K-12. Her 10 tips to develop active listening skills are summarized in the infographic above and in this Forbes article. Explain your expectations and how they are defined in your rubric. Connect your evaluation framework to your course goals and make those connections clear to your students.

Doing so gives you control over the progress and trajectory of the conversation. As a leader, you can ensure that everyone is given the opportunity to voice their opinions, identify potential areas for improvement, and lead the discussion toward generating workable solutions. When done responsibly, leading a group discussion can also help build leadership skills among the participants. When responding to classmates’ posts, follow the same expectations listed above for responding to the teacher.

If you use a discussion strategy that’s not mentioned here, please share it below. To develop a seminar, Amanda from Mud and Ink Teaching recommends starting with an Essential Question. Essential Questions are questions that guide units of study and illicit genuine curiosity and further inquiry from students (check out this blog post for a head start or her course to learn more!).