LEAD 178 Creating Meaningful Discussions Online

Discussions have evolved into a key element of many, if not most online courses. Viewed as a tool to support student interactions in the asynchronous world of online education, they are often dropped into a course without much thought as to whether the topic should actually be a discussion. Many discussions are essay questions in disguise. The purpose of this Lead session is to explore the realm of Discussions. It will answer many key questions that we seldom ask ourselves while designing courses. We will cover what makes a good discussion based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, explore how to lead a discussion without dominating it as an instructor, and how to give feedback to students. We will also cover setting up discussion rubrics that work. Finally, we will look at the creative side of discussions such as using them for peer review, roleplaying, project discussions, as well as other ways to have a discussion without doing it on the Discussion Board, like a video discussion. This class will take place entirely online. We will have one meeting virtually at the beginning of the course which will be recorded for those who cannot attend. You can take this class from any location with internet access!

Prerequisites:  TE125 TEACH: Intro to Online Pedagogy 

Scope / Length: LEAD offerings are short-course experiences (@ 15 hours, generally over 4 weeks) that involve a mentored, guided cohort (i.e. they are not self-paced), and they are facilitated by faculty development educators.

To register, visit our upcoming offerings page. 

Course designed by Kimlisa Duchicela.  First offered in the Summer of 2019

Visit our Courses for Faculty page for a complete list of offerings.