McKeachie (1999) lists the following objectives that can be addressed with effective discussions:
In Palloff and Pratt's (1999) Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace, Chapter 7 discusses establishing the foundations for an online learning community. They discuss the creation of goals and provide examples of syllabi for a variety of subject areas.
Students participating in a study by Karayan and Crowe (1997) were more likely to answer questions, think more before answering, develop positive relationships with their instructor and peers, and participate in class outside the normal workday as a result of participating in class electronic discussion forums.
Shuell and Farber's (2001) study of undergraduate and graduate students found that participation in electronic discussion forums increased learners' perceptions of the quality of interaction with their peers. The authors noted, "As students participated more fully with each other using more interactive forms of communication technology, their perceptions of overall learning and motivation increased as well" (p. 129).
An article by Wolf (1987) describes three attributes of questions: range, arc, and authenticity. The author defines several question types which relate to different level’s in Bloom’s taxonomy and discusses the use of an “arc of questions” to support inquiry. She recommends that the art of questioning be studied. She notes that many school environments are not conducive to the use of questioning and that it is very important for students themselves to have this skill.
Millis and Cottell (1998) authored Cooperative Learning for Higher Education Faculty, a book that provides a compelling argument for using cooperative learning techniques. It also describes the techniques and gives a plethora of examples. Finally, it provides a comprehensive literature review and bibliography. For a description, table of contents, and excerpts from the book, see the National Teaching & Learning Forum article.
Webb's (1985) chapter in Learning to Cooperate, Cooperating to Learn summarizes a body of research examining the specific interaction variables and sequences of behavior that predict achievement in small groups. Webb discusses non-specific interactions, peer tutoring, giving help, receiving help, and sequences of behavior. She also discusses predictors of interaction, such as ability, extroversion and introversion, intellectual achievement responsibility, group ability composition, and group gender composition. Webb summarizes by providing implications for the research.
It is important to provide students with cooperative learning strategies when working in teams. A study by McDonald, Larson, Dansereau, and Spurlin (1985) on cooperative dyads found that exposure to a systematic cooperative learning strategy facilitated initial learning and also led to positive transfer on a subsequent individual learning task.
Hiltz, Coppola, Rotter, and Turoff. (2000) authored a report of a 3-year longitudinal study of 26 courses which showed that outcomes resulting from the use of collaborative learning techniques in asynchronous discussion are as good or better than that of traditional classes, and better than outcomes associated with students who worked alone.
A text by Christensen (1991) provides premises and practices for discussion teaching. One chapter discusses each of the following four precepts in detail and provides examples.
One chapter (Leonard, 1991) in Christensen’s Education for Judgment: The Artistry of Discussion Leadership describes a variety of good listening skills and the diagnosis and treatment of listening pathologies – both instructor and student. Finally, it deals with the all-important issue of how to develop a class environment that encourages listening that, in turn, supports meaningful discussion.
Christensen (1991a) defines several question types that can be used to support different teaching goals. He also discusses the emotional dimension (tone, body language) and the level of abstraction of questions. He provides a list of what to listen for. Examples include student command of content, involvement, continuity of thought, use of value-laden language, and ability to listen to others. Response is the most complex of the three dimensions because it requires multiple, simultaneous, on-the-spot decisions. In preparing for what to say following a student comment, Christensen describes a decision tree that supports class objectives. This part of the chapter is very helpful for instructors wanting to incorporate discussion into their classrooms.
Hertenstein (1991) states that developing good participative skills is an important learning goal. She discusses three dimensions to follow for each student and for the class as a whole: content, process, and frequency. She advocates developing a method for tracking participation, and providing individual and class feedback at regular intervals. Research on Best Practices
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