Designing a Prompt

Designing a Discussion Prompt

Wiggins and McTighe define essential questions as "questions that are not answerable with finality in a brief sentence… Their aim is to stimulate thought, to provoke inquiry, and to spark more questions — including thoughtful student questions — not just pat answers" (106). Discussion questions that are solely fact-based tend to inhibit participation because students will find difficulty adding novel information after only a few posts. Instead, use questions with multiple correct answers.

Potential Pitfalls

While Discussion Boards are a great tool for building community and providing a means for students to share their ideas with the group, there are some common problems and pitfalls:

• Students may misunderstand directions or may be unsure of what is expected of them.
• Student comments can become off track or go in a direction that is not supported in the lesson.
• Students may stall or put off participating in the discussion board until the last minute.
• Students may not feel a sense of connection with their classmates.
• Students may react in an inappropriate way by flaming other students or making disinterested or disrespectful comments to their peers or in response to assignments.

It is essential that these problems are addressed expeditiously and in a way that saves face for all group members. While an email message may be sufficient, sometimes it really pays to pick up the phone and talk with the person individually. In the unlikely event that one message is particularly abusive or offensive, you do have the option to delete that message, but use this power only as a last resort (Matthews-DeNatale & Doubler).

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