A More Authentic Online Discussion

Credit: iStock.com/Pavel Muravev
Credit: iStock.com/Pavel Muravev

Discussion forums have brought both promise and disappointment to online educators. They promise to allow all students to lend their voice to a discussion without worry of being interrupted or slowing down the class. But they often degenerate into places where students repeat one another and make only perfunctory comments to satisfy the bare minimum discussion requirements.

It is easy to blame students for not taking advantage of the affordances offered by online discussion, but in reality, much of the blame lies with the format that online discussion has used. The traditional online discussion adopts a model that is far afield from a real discussion, and it should come as no surprise that it often fails to generate vigorous debate. Commentators have suggested various alternative formats for online discussion, but these are usually still artificial, guided by a paradigm that is not based in real discussion. I suggest that faculty instead look to real-world discussions to guide online discussion.


To continue reading, you must be a Teaching Professor Subscriber. Please log in or sign up for full access.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles

I have two loves: teaching and learning. Although I love them for different reasons, I’ve been passionate about...
“Why does my edition of Hamlet read ‘O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,’” my student...
After all, nearly every large language model (LLM) is good at summarizing readings, synthesizing large amounts of data...
In 1906, Francis Galton was visiting a livestock fair when he stumbled upon an interesting contest. Local villagers...
I often wear sunglasses on my walk from my parking spot on campus to my office. I recently...
Students taking online classes represent a key part of the college-attending population. Demand for online classes and online...
As AI use continues to grow in the field of education, we are only beginning to discover potential...

Create a free account, or log in.

Gain access to limited free articles, news alerts, and select newsletters

Login here

Get unlimited access to The Teaching Professor

Stay informed. Subscribe Now.

WELCOME OFFER

$19.00 $14.00/month

for your first 6 months. Use coupon code TP6MO.

$19.00 thereafter. Cancel anytime.

Enjoy unlimited access to all of The Teaching Professor

You only have  free article views remaining.

WELCOME OFFER

$19.00 $14.00/month

for your first 6 months. Use coupon code TP6MO.

$19.00 a month thereafter. Cancel anytime.

Are you signed up for free weekly Teaching Professor updates?

You'll get notified of the newest articles.