Your Role as Online Discussion Facilitator
It can be difficult to feel out your role in online discussions. In my years of teaching online, I’ve come to see that the discussions don’t need managed, but they do need our leadership. Here are three different strategies you can use to take that leadership role with your online discussions.
1. Ask For More. This is particularly effective in the early stage of a discussion. Write a simple response asking a student to elaborate on their thoughts. Ask them to “Tell me more about…” or “Explain what you meant by…”
2. Resource. Give your students web links or textbook page numbers to help them explore the topic. They are new to the subject matter and do not always know how to find quality information about the topic.
3. Challenge. I like to take an indirect approach to this, especially as my students are getting familiar with me and still growing to trust me (which can take longer online). I’ll ask, “Suppose that a person were to disagree with your statement, ‘…’, How would you respond to them?” I enjoy playing the devil’s advocate, but I’ll often wait until later in the semester to do so directly.
These are the three foundational strategies that I’d recommend you add to your facilitation toolbox.
