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Attrition fluctuates nationally between 34% and 50%, on average,
for online classes. Most of us would agree that even the lowest end of this
statistic is still too high a percentage of students to lose. The three top
reasons students fail to complete an online course are:
- Lack of student responsibility – time management, infrequent logons,
and nonparticipation.
- Technical difficulties – real or perceived problems, computer
illiteracy, and user error.
- Isolation – a feeling or belief that they are working alone without
the help of their teacher or classmates.
While there may be little an instructor can do to help students
with the first two reasons, there is a great deal he/she can do to decrease
isolation by effectively using class discussions.
Discussions are also an effective way to help adults learn.
Since online classes are usually populated by adults, using discussions in
your course will affect the learning outcomes you have established by addressing
adults preferred learning strategies. According to the Knowles educational
theory of androgogy (how adults learn), learning environments provide an
opportunity for immediate application of new information to one’s personal/professional
lives and those where they can demonstrate their knowledge. That’s
exactly what well constructed and properly facilitated discussions do.
Demographic statistics report that online course enrollees
include a high percentage of women, sometimes up to 75% of the participants.
Research on how women understand and apply knowledge clearly reports that
approximately 80% of the female population needs social interaction to maximize
their learning potential. Once again, asynchronous discussion meets these
learners’ need
As mentioned in the introduction, online discussions usually
result in greater participation by more students than the typical F2F discussion.
The primary reason for this can be found in examining personality styles.
In a traditional classroom, the extroverted students tend to dominate the
discussion, while those more introverted sit back and observe. By definition,
extroverted people are those who give little consideration to thinking through
their statements before verbalizing their comments (they process information
though external communication). Introverts need time to think, research,
analyze and reflect before responding. It’s fairly obvious that F2F
discussions, because of the immediacy, tend to leave introverts out of discussions.
What may not be so obvious is that typical F2F discussions are often being
lead and dominated by comments that while they may be “correct”;
don’t necessarily reflect much critical thought. This is particularly
true during initial phases of the discussion process when extroverts are
sorting out their ideas through verbalization. Asynchronous discussions provide
an environment in which introverts thrive and extroverts can learn to pause
and reflect before responding, resulting in higher level thinking early in
the process. In fact, the carefully thought through responses of students,
who have had time to reflect, often become the discussion leaders, resulting
in more learning opportunities for all.
Student-centered discussions ultimately create an environment
in which a learning community can develop and grow. There is a wealth of
educational and communication research that supports that most students,
men or women, learn and think more critically within a learning community,
rather than working in isolation.
Finally, it should be noted that financial aid does not fund
correspondence courses. Online courses that do not provide sufficient interaction
between student and teacher, and among students, themselves may be considered
much like correspondence courses and be ineligible for financial aid.
- Introduction
 Why
Use Discussions- Approaches to Discussion Questions
- Characteristics of Effective Discussions
- Useful Forums
- Organization
- Facilitating Discussions
- Keeping Your Balance
- Evaluation
- Resources
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