21 Ways to Structure Online Discussions (by Annie Prud Homme-Genereux)
I am always looking for creative ways to engage my students in my on-campus, face-to-face settings. However, teaching the NET classes requires even more creative engagement than face-to-face students and simply having students do the same 3-2-1 responses each week is not engaging. Here is a fantastic series from the Faculty Focus folks in providing 21 great ideas (which may spark more creative ideas in your mind) to enhance your online instruction. Test some of them out.
Click on each of the five parts below (e.g. Part One) that Dr. Annie Prud’homme-Genereux has compiled. A list of activities in each part and brief descriptions are provided below each link.
Part One (click on link)
Hashtag that Photo Safari - “In this activity, learners are asked to go on a field trip—to their kitchen, their backyard, their neighborhood, or their local mall—and to find examples of a concept they have studied in the course. They report their findings by posting a photo and an analysis of how their real-world example illustrates the concept.”
Virtual Scavenger Hunt - “In a virtual scavenger hunt discussion, learners peruse the internet and search for, recognize, collect, and share good examples of a concept. They then collaborate to infer the common elements across all good examples. In reviewing their peers’ posts, learners enrich their understanding of the concept by evaluating the boundaries of the concept and its applications.”
Guessing Game - “This discussion structure can take on many forms, but all forms have in common that learners create a post where they describe a concept (or examples of a concept), and others use that information to guess the concept being described. It’s a detective game, motivating peers to join in the conversation.” Variations below:
Word Cloud Creator (Free) - “Learners select a concept and from it, create either a word cloud or a concept map. They post their graphic to the discussion forum and others try to guess the original concept and explain the reasoning for their answer.”
WiseMapping (Free) - see Word Cloud description
Fake Text Messaging (Free) - “Learners create a text message exchange between two characters that represent concepts (or influential figures) studied in class.”
Realtor Tour - “This variation is appropriate when learners study different environments or locations (e.g., ecology, geology, urban planning, etc.). Each learner develops a short description of the features of the location as though they were a realtor presenting a property.”
The Price is Right - “In a course where learners are expected to learn to assign numerical values to concepts, each learner could showcase an example and take “bids” from others trying to estimate how much the item is worth.”
Forced Analogy - “Comparing a concept to a well-known object or system can help learners wrap their head around that concept, its components, their function, and relationships.”
Flawed Design - “Learners design an example that is purposefully “broken” and defies the concept learned in class. Then, peers look at the posts and play a game of “cat and mouse,” trying to find as many flaws as possible.” Variations below:
Shark Tank - Using a Shark Tank format … entrepreneurs (students) “present their design to a panel of potential investors. Each learner presents their design, which may or may not be flawed (each learner chooses whether to add a purposeful flaw) to their peers. Then the “investors” analyze the design and write a product review, concluding in whether they would invest in it (whether the design is flawed or not).”
Two Truths and a Lie -In the icebreaker version of this activity, each person makes three statements about themselves: two of them true and one a lie. Everyone then asks questions to try to guess which is false. In the discussion version, each learner comes up with three examples or applications of a concept, two of them accurate and one of them not an exemplar of the concept in subtle ways.
Part Two (click on link)
Sticky Note Party - “Sometimes called affinity mapping, this favorite activity of design thinking practitioners is an effective way to harness a team’s brainstorming capacity. This discussion requires the use of a virtual collaborative pinboard” (examples offered). Variations below:
Build a Checklist. “In this activity, the group uses the power of brainstorming to create a checklist for doing a particular task (for example, they could create a checklist of the steps required to build a website for a client, or for DNA polymerase to replicate genetic material). A checklist is a useful exercise because it forces the team to bring to the surface and discuss each component of the larger task, their order, and their importance.”
Force Field Analysis. “This type of brainstorm aims to identify the forces acting upon “something” to cause it to change. Teammates first brainstorm all the forces acting upon the object that causes change. Then they repeat the exercise brainstorming factors that are preventing change.”
SWOT Analysis. This well-known business tool asks the group to brainstorm ideas about the strengths (S) of an organization (or a concept), its weaknesses (W), opportunities (O) for its future, and threats (T) to its survival.
Fishbone Analysis - “In a Fishbone Analysis, teams brainstorm the causes of a situation or problem. They organize them into six main fishbones that stem off the fish’s backbone. Each fishbone can be further developed into sub-causes which represent minor causes.”
Wisdom of Crowds - “This type of discussion starts like the Sticky Note Party, where each participant generates at least one idea in response to a prompt. Then, each member of the team examines the range of responses and ranks them.”
Dotmocracy. “When conducted in a face-to-face context, dotmocracy starts with each idea written on a sheet of paper posted on the walls around the room. Then, participants are given a set of colored sticker dots – red, yellow, and green. Participants go around the room, read the statement on each sheet of paper, and add a dot – green if they support the idea, yellow if they are lukewarm, red if they oppose the idea.”
Lotus Diagram - “A Lotus Diagram is a collaborative concept mapping activity. It is useful when the goal is to make evident all concepts related to a central one.”
Mash-Up - “This activity, also a favorite of design thinkers, is used for creative problem-solving. It involves taking the insights and solutions developed in one context and adapting and adopting it in another context where a similar problem needs solving.”
Part Three (click on link)
Report on Live Discussion - “This format addresses learner concerns about the challenges of reading emotional cues in a text-based discussion. It starts in small groups where learners meet virtually for a live discussion.”
Give One, Take One - “This format is helpful when the goal is for learners to explore their understanding of a topic or their values. (Variation below)
Card Sort. “In this activity, learners are given a list of statements, diagrams, names of concepts, problem sets, or questions (i.e., the “cards”) and are asked to categorize them. They are not told the categories—they must define them.”
Role Play - “In this type of discussion, each learner is assigned, or proposes and then takes on, the role of a stakeholder in a scenario. Learners research the person’s motives, values, goals, the impact of different choices, position, arguments, and respond to the prompt in that voice.” (Variations below)
Debate. “A debate is a form of role-play where there are two main roles: a group of individuals in favor of something and a group of individuals opposed to it.”
Six Thinking Hats. “Based on a well-known business book, the six thinking hats is a method of investigating a situation from different perspectives. In this discussion, learners are grouped in teams of six, and are each person is assigned a “thinking hat.” This is the persona or perspective they will take on in analyzing the scenario.”
Blue Hat (Leader). “This person is the leader of the group and must take into consideration all perspectives to come to a decision.
White Hat (Thinking). This is the role of the person who is analyzing the problem from a rational or intellectual perspective. Think: “What would Spock, of Star Trek, say or do?”
Red Hat (Feeling). This person must present the emotional perspective on the problem. What are some of the fears or passions that people are likely to experience in this situation?
Green Hat (Creativity). This person is tasked with coming up with innovative ways to tackle the situation.
Yellow Hat (Positivity). This person is a Pollyanna, always focusing on the benefits and merits of ideas suggested by others.
Black Hat (Cautious). The role of this person is to identify the potential drawbacks or challenges of proceeding with a course of action or decision.”
Hot Seat. “In this variation, learners take turns adopting the persona of a famous person studied in class and answering questions posted by their peers from that person’s perspective.”
Superheroes. “This method requires learners to take on the persona of a well-known hero or villain and apply that lens in responding to the prompt (e.g., what would Iron Man think of this proposal and what sort of memo would he send to the Avengers?)”
Love Letters / Break Up letters. “A twist on the debate, this format asks learners to write a love letter to a concept they embrace or a break-up letter to a concept they oppose.”
Jigsaw - “A jigsaw is an effective way to structure teamwork because it gives each learner distinctive expertise that is needed by a team to solve a problem. The activity begins by assigning learners to groups that are tasked with becoming “experts” in a specific aspect of the problem.” (Variation below)
Library Roulette - Instead of everyone researching the same topic, try this. “To breathe a bit of variety in the conversation, and to practice research literacy and critical thinking skills, learners can be tasked with finding resources to research a topic and then bring that information to the discussion (rather than assigning the same readings to everyone).”
Case Study - “Case studies are narratives about challenges encountered in the real world that learners tackle and attempt to solve.”
Round Robin - “This is a collaborative activity to be done in small groups. Learners take turns moving the discussion along but never provide a complete response. Rather, each member of the group provides a part of the response, leaving the next learner to continue.”
3CQ Model - “The 3CQ Model of discussion (Compliment-Connect-Comment-Question) was developed by Jennifer Stewart-Mitchell, a high school teacher who sought to train her students in effective communication in an online discussion forum. The model provides a structure by which learners may respond to peer posts.:
Compliment. “To acknowledge the contributions of others, … start by praising a specific aspect of the post.”
Connect. This step is also about building community and connection. It’s about relating, on a personal level, to what the person said. For example, the learner might write, “I had the same thing happen to me when…” or “I read a similar story in X which…”
Comment. The next step adds to what was said in the post by providing a response to it. It may be a statement of agreement or disagreement. The response may begin with, “What I would add to your post is that…” or “I might come to a different conclusion because…”
Question. The last step is about keeping the conversation going by asking a specific question about the topic under discussion. Ways to state this is to write, “I wonder why…” or “What effect might X have on…”
Part Four (click on link)
Fishbowl - “In a fishbowl exercise, some learners are invited to participate in the discussion, and others are instructed to stand back and observe. Then, at the end of the activity, the people who observed provide commentaries on what took place.” (Variations below)
Spiderweb - “This visual mapping activity, developed by Shai Klima and shared by Minero (August 21, 2020), tasks a learner (or the instructor) to create a visual map of the participation and interactions in the discussion. In it, each learner’s name is written around a circle, and the observer links two people whenever one person responds to another’s posts.”
Rant. This variant takes place in pairs and helps learners develop the ability for deep and empathic listening. Learners begin in pairs, either live or in a private asynchronous discussion board. They are given a prompt to which learners are likely to have strong feelings, strong opinions, or strong responses. Each person is allowed space to “rant” about it–to express their feelings, unfiltered. There is a time or word limit for the complaint, usually 60 seconds or one paragraph. The other learner must read or listen to the rant and infer what the person cares about, what is important to them, and what they value.
Role Swap - “Learners will take ownership of one aspect of the discussion’s progress since it is uniquely assigned to them. Possible roles include Facilitator (someone who monitors each person’s contribution to the discussion, encourages submissions, and moderates), Fact Checker (who comments on the accuracy or strengths of others’ posts), Skeptic (who plays devil’s advocate), Runner (the “go-between” who reports on their small group discussion to the whole-class; or who finds links between the posts of different small groups; or finds relevant posts in previous discussion threads for the group to consider), or Summarizer (whose task is to write a summary of the discussion at the end, giving them an incentive to follow the discussion closely).”
Muddiest Point - “An online discussion generally starts with an instructor prompt. But, it could just as easily begin by asking learners to think about the content they learned and generate questions about issues that remain unclear (“muddiest points”).”
Karma Points - “Learners expressed the desire for flexible means of participation in a discussion, reproducing the options they experience in a live classroom discussion (e.g., showing support by cheering or nodding, raising a hand to add to a peer’s comments, or being the first to comment on the prompt), depending on the extent to which a topic inspires them.”
Mood Board - “Mood boards are commonly used in the creative arts but are underused in other fields. It consists of a collage of images, words and quotes, fonts, colors, textures, and visual metaphors, usually taken from clipping from magazines, that captures a person’s emotional connection or feelings (i.e., “mood”) about the topic. Online learners can create multimedia mood boards (including sound and video to capture the mood) using a virtual pinboard such as Padlet, Prezi, Wakelet, or Canva.”
Part Five (click on link)
ONLINE DISCUSSION IDEAS - Ideas for creative discussion forum responses (click on the Part Five link to see all the great ideas. Here is a summary.
Text - The normal ways to have students respond, but the author does provide some creative ways to use it.
Try out some of the polling tools such as Poll Everywhere, and Kahoot
Graphics - have students create a concept map demonstrating their understanding of the teaching topic.
Audio/Voicdeboard - Why not have your students create a short podcast or another format to express their ideas auditorily.
Video - Video is the ideal way to capture the tone of voice, facial expression, and mindset. There are tons of great ideas about this format.
Dr. Annie Prud’homme-Généreux is the director of continuing studies at Capilano University. She is a past recipient of the National Association of Biology Teachers’ Four-Year College/University Teaching Innovation Award. She has been teaching in a blended format for over 15 years and is currently completing a master of education in open, digital and distance education.
