Role of online discussion forums
Associate Professor Som Naidu, PhD
Director, T&L Quality Enhancement and Evaluation
Charles Sturt University, NSW, Australia
Email: [email protected]
This presentation will explore...
• Role of online discussion forums in learning and
teaching online;
• Communicative affordances of online discussion
forums for learning and teaching; and
• Models and steps in the process for designing and
orchestrating these affordances.
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Open Access & OERs
Lets begin with some questions....
– Jim Taylor: http://www.campusreview.com.au/blog/analysis/oeruniversity-gains-momentum/
– Is open access to open educational resources all that is required for
learning?
– Where is the teaching in this model of education, and who is
responsible for it?
– Moreover, are all learners capable of learning by themselves with
minimal structure and guidance?
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Conceptions of teaching
• For some, teaching is a highly structured activity.
• For others, teaching is an open-ended activity with
minimal structure and guidance (minimally invasive).
– Sugata Mitra's "Hole in the Wall" experiments: http://www.ted.com/speakers/sugata_mitra.html
• In fact, effective, efficient and engaging teaching (e3teaching) is neither an open-ended and unstructured
activity, nor a one-way transmission of content with the
teacher doing all the hard work.
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Effective, efficient & engaging teaching
• E3 teaching (Spector & Merrill, 2008) is about a lot more than that.
• It takes place when a teacher carefully choreographs the learning
experiences of students in close alignment with the expected
learning outcomes for them, and with a fine balance of guidance and
structure.
• Great teaching is about putting “students in an environment where
they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true
passions” (see Robinson & Aronica, 2009, p. 238).
– KEY QUESTION: Would it ensure that students acquire all the information they
need to pass their examinations?
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Source: Davidson, C. (2011). Now you see it: How the brain science of attention will transform the way we live, work, and learn,
page 131, Viking Penguin Books: London, England.
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Nine principles for e3-teaching
1. Teachers and learners are clear about the learning
outcomes.
2. Learning is situated within a meaningful context and
within the culture and the community in which learners
live and work.
3. Learners are engaged in pursuing and solving
meaningful and real-world challenges, where they have
opportunities to work on a variety of problems and tasks
of increasing complexity with timely and useful feedback.
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Nine principles for e3-teaching
1. The learning activities in these learning situations are
clearly articulated and explicitly linked to knowledge and
skills already mastered.
2. Learners, while working on learning situations, are
required to think for themselves by reflecting in and upon
their actions and regulating their own performance.
3. The development of understanding is promoted as a
social process with learners acting upon authentic
situations in groups and with dialogue, discussion and
debate.
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Nine principles for e3-teaching
1. The assessment of learning outcomes is closely
aligned with the learning context.
2. The assessment of learning outcomes is linked to
meaningful problems and tasks, and aimed at helping
students further develop their knowledge, skills and
problem-solving abilities.
3. The assessment of learning outcomes is designed to
develop self-regulatory and meta-cognitive skills.
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Principles into models of teaching
• Few would argue with the spirit behind these guiding
principles, but many will have problems applying them in
their teaching activities without operational models.
• Widely used models of learning and teaching that
encapsulate these principles include:
scenario-based learning
problem-based learning
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case-based reasoning
goal-based learning
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adventure learning
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Scenario-based learning
• Example: Scenario-based learning
• SBL is about using a scenario to situate all learning and
teaching activities.
• Scenarios can be real or contrived. Their value lies in their
affordances – the opportunity they present for situating and
contextualizing all learning and teaching activities.
•
See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IC5YeGcSCE&feature=share
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Role of online discussion forums in
supporting Scenario-Based Learning
• These include:
– Communication among students, and
– Between teachers and the students about all aspects of
learning and teaching.
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Problem with forums...
• Lack of student participation.
• Poor design -- time poor and time jealous students shun
these areas because quite often there is no need for them
to be there.
“(T)he college thinks I should partner with (other learners)…I don’t think so.
The sick part is that there are probably tons of bright people in these
courses but they, like me, hide and keep their mouths shut because the
idiots run rampant and make the most noise like monkeys with pots and
pans”.
Baggaley, J. (2011). Harmonizing Global Education: from Genghis
Khan to Facebook. New York: Taylor & Francis.
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Getting the horse to drink...
Case Study: Learning Scenario
.....You have been hired to the job of training and development manager because of your interest and
expertise in online learning education. Your senior managers, who are your colleagues, have heard that
online learning can help them develop the skills of their staff by offering them training and development
opportunities while they are on the job without losing valuable time on the job and without eating into the
personal time or space of the employees.
For the organisation, their workers receive the training that they need while productively occupied and
remaining on the job. For the workers, it means upgrading their skills and competencies, remaining
competitive and motivated without sacrificing their own time and space to do so. Seems like a win-win
situation for both parties.
Your job is to make all this happen.
Analyse your organizational context and pick a skill or set of skills that need urgent attention and
development. Design the appropriate learning experience for your learners and develop your online course.
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Context analysis (25% of marks)
• Describe your learning context
• Identify the learning need in the context
– Post your analysis of learning need in the discussion
forum.
– Engage with the analysis of your peers.
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Learning experience design (25% of
marks)
• Design the learning experience
• Your approach to learning and teaching, and the
rationale for your design.
– Post an outline of your design in the discussion forum.
– Engage with the designs of your peers.
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Development of your online course
(using WebTycho) (25 % of marks)
• Students are organised into groups.
• Every student is a recipient as well as a
provider of feedback.
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Critical reflection (25% of marks)
• Post your reflections on your design experience
in the discuss forum.
• Engage with the reflections of your peers.
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If we built it right they will come
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Selected References
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Billett, S. (2011). Integrating experiences in workplace and university settings: A conceptual
perspective. In S. Billett & A. Henderson (Eds.), Promoting professional learning (pp. 21–40).
Dordrecht: Springer.
Brown, J.S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning.
Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32–42.
Collins, A., Brown, J. S., & Holum, A. (1991). Cognitive apprenticeship: Making thinking visible.
American Educator, 15(3), 6–11, 38–46.
Merrill, M.D. (2002). First principles of instruction. Educational Technology Research and
Development, 50(3), 43–59.
Naidu, S. (2010). Using scenario-based learning to promote situated learning and develop
professional knowledge. In E. P. Errington (Ed.), Preparing graduates for the professions using
scenario-based learning, (39-49), Brisbane: Post Pressed.
Schank, R. C. (1997). Virtual learning: A revolutionary approach to building a highly skilled
workforce. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Spector, J.M., & Merrill, M.D. (2008). Editorial. Distance Education, 29(2), 123–126.
The Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbuilt. (1993). Designing learning environments that
support thinking. In T. M. Duffy, J. Lowyck, & D. H. Jonassen (Eds.), Designing environments for
constructivist learning (pp. 9–36). New York, NY: Springer-Verkag.
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