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Discussion boards can play an essential role in online and hybrid learning. You may wonder, "How can I use discussion boards efficiently and effectively without boring students?"
Discussion board prompts that are not well-developed and have limited responses can fall flat and become mundane for students.
Did you know that it's the same for your discussion strategies in class? If you are only asking recall questions to your students, it won't take long before they are yawning! Explore the resources below to spark your creativity in creating your discussion boards!
Discussion board prompts that are not well-developed and have limited responses can fall flat and become mundane for students.
Did you know that it's the same for your discussion strategies in class? If you are only asking recall questions to your students, it won't take long before they are yawning! Explore the resources below to spark your creativity in creating your discussion boards!
Effective Discussion Prompts for Online Discussion BoardsDuration: 4:31Created by: Galina Culpechina
Discussion Board Tips and Tricks
Tip #1
Tip #2
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Tip #4
Tip #5
Tip #6
- Create higher-level, open-ended discussion prompts that foster critical thinking. Refer to Bloom's Taxonomy when developing prompts.
Tip #2
- Be present. Absence of instructor presence can often lead to dysfunctional discussion boards and student dissatisfaction. Question students to further the discussion.
Tip #3
- Accept multiple ways that students can respond to a discussion prompt. (video note, slide presentation, poster, etc.). This allows creativity and choice for the student. You could also group students and assign different ways that each group has to respond to the discussion prompt. For example, group one must post video notes, group two must post a presentation, group three must create a concept map for the response, etc.
Tip #4
- Strive for discussion QUALITY not quantity. Too many discussion board assignments are not only overwhelming to the faculty, but they can be overwhelming to the student, as well. Be sure to form your discussion to meet several learning outcomes, if possible.
Tip #5
- Consider using discussion boards as a reflection of learning. Discussion boards implemented after class can be very effective in solidifying student learning outcomes.
Tip #6
- Be sure to identify the course student learning outcome(s) in which the discussion prompt correlates and emphasize the purpose of the discussion prompt with students.
Resources
- Nurse Key: Writing Engaging Discussion Questions
- Discussion Boards: Valuable? Overused? Discuss.
- Integrating Technology: An innovative approach to improving online discussion boards
- How to Deepen Online Dialogue
- Save the Last Word for Me: Encouraging Students to Engage with Complex Reading and Each Other
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