While the frequency, and style of discussions will vary greatly from course to course (and across disciplines), there are several possible approaches that are effective.

The style(s) you choose will depend on a variety of factors. You must choose an approach that facilitates students meeting the course or assignment objectives, therefore a variety of approaches can be used depending on what best fulfills the needs of the learning objectives. Remember that the initial “discussion” question is only the beginning of the process. A discussion doesn’t develop until students post their initial responses and begin to exchange responses and reactions. The design of the discussion assignments must reflect and stress this concept to the students