6.5 Effective asynchronous teaching practices

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Any time you post learning materials online or when you communicate with students via discussion boards or email, you’re engaging in asynchronous online teaching. Asynchronous online teaching allows students to complete work at any time using tools such as Canvas, WeBWorK, blogs, and email. Teaching asynchronously requires different skills than teaching synchronously since you and your students will not be engaging in direct communication. A variety of options for asynchronous teaching are explored in 4.3 Designing for interaction in Module 4 and 5.3 Asynchronous online lectures in Module 5. In this module, we focus on the most common asynchronous online teaching practice, online discussions.

Online discussions

Before using online discussions think critically about what questions you will ask and how to word your questions. If your initial question does not elicit the response or level of dialogue you hoped for, it may not be easy to revive the discussion. One common experience is having discussions stop once a student has posted the “correct” answer. Here are some suggestions for how you might approach online discussions:

  • Ask questions about course topics. Asking your students questions about topics you’re covering in the course works best for questions that do not have a single answer. If you are still having a hard time coming up with a broad enough question, set up the  discussion forum so students cannot see each other’s responses until they post their own response. 

  • Ask for examples. Ask students to find an example of concepts covered in the course in their own life, in literature or in popular media.

  • Encourage student-led discussions. Ask students to take the lead on the course discussion for a topic. Students must come up with questions around the topic and facilitate the conversation.

  • Initiate debates. Students, either individually or in groups, post a viewpoint supported by research. This is followed by a response from a peer (or group) with different viewpoints, and then a rebuttal from the initial student (or student group). Students could be asked to write a final reflection on what viewpoint they agree with.

  • Clarify “Muddy Moments”. Students identify something they found confusing in the course material. Other students then respond by providing clarification. 

  • Provide case studies or problem solving questions. Students work on a case or problem to come up with a solution. Students apply the course concepts to analyze the information provided, make a decision/recommendation, and justify their decision/recommendation.

The University of Calgary has an excellent Online Discussion Planning Worksheet Links to an external site. [pdf] you may find helpful.

Facilitating effective online discussions

It is important for instructors to know how to facilitate meaningful discussion that engages students actively and promotes a healthy online community. However, effective facilitation of online discussions takes time and practice. Here are some techniques to help you facilitate effective online discussions:

  • Set ground rules. Explain to students what you expect including how long their posts should be, how many posts they should reply to, and whether they need to include references. Also be clear with your expectations regarding respecting others opinions.

  • Be present and active. You are an important part of the learning community. By being present and active in online discussions, you communicate to students that you value discussions as an activity.

  • Clarify your role. Students might have different expectations for your involvement than you do, so be clear about what role you play in the discussion. Let students know you’ll be active in discussions and reading their posts, but you won’t reply to every single post.

  • Provide feedback. Students may need time to develop the skills necessary to make good posts. Ask for clarifications if a post appears vague and let students know when their posts are missing elements you expect to see.

  • Consider dividing your course into groups. If you have a large course, your students may find it helpful to have discussions in smaller groups. It will be easier for your students to stay engaged in the discussion if they know they aren’t expected to read every post in a 100 student course.

  • Create questions you care about. Rather than just asking questions you think are important, ask questions that you are really interested in discussing. You may also decide to ask multiple questions so students can choose the ones they want to respond to.

  • Post a discussion summary. When a discussion has come to an end, post a summary of what was discussed. Be sure to point out any misconceptions or misinformation. This is a good way to reconnect the discussion to the course material.

This section was informed by the following resources, which contain more useful tips on facilitating online discussions.