The Choice Board

Recently, I had a discussion with a colleague about students' AI use in discussion replies. I don't think I have a perfect answer, but one thing that has worked for me over the past few years is the choice board. 

Instead of giving everyone the same discussion question, I offer a menu of ways to respond to the week's reading or videos. I've sprinkled these through chapters as discussions, and in other chapters I narrowed in on specific topics I wanted them to dig into. I wouldn't recommend this as an every-chapter discussion topic.

It also makes it a little more interesting to grade. I've helped clarify some misconceptions; other students looked at pictures of notes and realized a new way to take notes. Some students appreciate the extra resources shared. I've had some interesting viewpoints and discussions about out-of-the-box thinking (one suggested a Ponzi scheme without realizing it 😳; that was fun!).

I noticed that I didn't see much copy and paste. I can't prove why, but I sense that autonomy changes the work. When students pick the format that fits how they think, and some of the options ask for something a chatbot can't easily fake, like a photo of handwritten notes or a personal reflection on their own study habits, there's more reason to engage.

Below is a picture of the choice board I use as a starting point. Take it, change it, and make it fit your course and your students. 

Note: I picked this up through an educational conference from a professor in the education discipline using it for their competency-based online program and adapted it for my accounting courses.