Boost learning with online student discussion forums

Online course forums allow students to work remotely in groups to construct their knowledge collaboratively through discussion, application, sharing and exchange. Below are some strategies designed to maximise the learning effectiveness of online forums:

Group organisation and roles

Teachers can break down a relatively large class into small groups of four to five students. Students should always be encouraged to complete all the assigned readings before attending the lectures and tutorials. However, teachers can assign designated “deep readers” each week, who are responsible for responding to the weekly thematic discussion questions and submitting online posts to initiate the online discussion. Other team members can be assigned as responders, who are responsible for developing the discussion using shorter and continuous posts. There can also be a designated weekly group leader to encourage and facilitate the whole group to participate and work together to improve the quality of their discussion and collective learning. Assigning these roles helps ensure that all students get immersed in dynamic interactions each week.

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Areas of discussion

While there is a fixed theme each week, students can still be given the freedom and flexibility to decide on the exact focus and nature of their discussion. Tutors can provide some general ideas for students to start working with, such as:

• Summarise the key ideas in the readings;
• Suggest how these key ideas are reflected by everyday lives;
• Evaluate the applicability of these ideas;
• Argue for their stance towards the key ideas;
• Raise questions regarding the readings and suggest what could be further explored.

Length and format

Each initial online post from that week’s “deep readers” should be about 200 to 300 words. Respondents’ posts can be a shorter 100 to 150 words to encourage interactive discussion. These word limits are set because students themselves also do not like to read long and complicated posts. Reducing the writing burden also helps incentivise students to contribute. If students have more to say, they can write multiple shorter Moodle posts each summarising different ideas. In terms of presentation format, students do not need to confine themselves to paragraphed text. They can share ideas in the form of photos, drawings, mind-maps, poetry, webpages and other media, all of which can make the discussion more engaging.

Forum requirements

The deep readers are required to submit at least one post one day before the class, allowing other students to respond and the teachers to browse the posts before class. At the end of the semester, each student will have shared at least eight to 10 posts. This is the minimum and students are encouraged to post regularly, especially when they find interesting and puzzling issues to share, helping each other to learn. But the aim is not to achieve a set number of notes, it is about meaningful discussion so the quality should always outweigh quantity.

Sentence openers for online interaction

Students can be encouraged to use some of the following sentence openers to enrich their dialogue, discussion and teamwork:

• Could you explain further …? 
• Have we thought about …? 
• I agree with what you said about…I want to add that…
• I have a slightly different idea. I think…because…What do you think?
• What you wrote reminds me of…
• Building on what you have said, I think…
• I have similar experience and encounters previously, which are…
• What you two have said seem different at first glance, yet both are related to…

Actions to support discussion

While the discussion should be led by students, its impact on learning can be maximised if teachers scaffold discourse in the following ways:

• Ground the discussion with contextual background information;
• Initiate thought-provoking and overarching questions;
• Demonstrate thoughtful engagement by applying theoretical concepts;
• Support statements and arguments using concrete evidence;
• Connect personal practices with academic theories;
• Deepen the discussion by asking follow-up questions;
• Compare and contrast multiple perspectives;
• Draw conclusions and summarise discussion points;
• Consider possible solutions and key takeaways from discussion.

Role of teachers

Teachers should join the online discussion forum intermittently and provide comments that encourage student participation, keep the discussion focused, and help reframe questions if the discussion has veered off-topic.

However, teachers should try to avoid providing too much detail in order to keep the discussion open and the emphasis on students directing their own learning.  The online discussions should be deepened with interactive and real-time teaching in class, when students’ diverse ideas and questions can be compared and summarised.

It is helpful to clearly communicate the allocation of roles, deadlines and grading arrangements before the start of these discussions, so students understand what is expected of them. It is crucial to set rules and expectations to ensure all students participate respectfully and constructively, showing appreciation for their classmates’ ideas and remaining friendly and polite even when opinions differ.

Adrian Man-Ho Lam is a course tutor researching and teaching the interdisciplinary common core curriculum at the University of Hong Kong. 

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