The One Question that Drives How You Facilitate Online Discussion
Here’s the question: How can I move this student (or group of students) to the next level?
You’re probably thinking, “Aaron, where are you getting these ‘levels’.” I’m getting them from Mr. Bloom, and his associates (see Bloom’s Updated Taxonomy). Their taxonomies will provide you with grid to 1) Determine what level your student is on, and 2) Think through what would move them to the next level.
Example #1 – Cognitive Focus
If the discussion has a more cognitive focus, I’ll ask myself, “How could I move this student from understanding the content to applying it to a scenario?” or “How could I move this group of students from analyzing the data to evaluating its validity?”
Example #2 – Affective Focus
If your discussion goals are more affective, dealing with learners’ values and emotional responses to the content, then get familiar with the Affective Taxonomy. This taxonomy is more difficult for teachers to grasp, but it’s an essential tool for learning. Here’s a great resource created by the National Science Foundation: Affective Domain Page.
When addressing the affective domain, I’ll ask myself, “How can I help this student to become aware of the values latent in his response?” or “How can I challenge her to consider the values that undergird the opposing viewpoint?”
That’s just a few examples of how we can use one question to move our learners to the next level in online discussions.
