In a study of master’s students in a hybrid program, discussion boards emerged as a real point of pain for the working adults. What was the point? Why were they so repetitive? This conversation for faculty and instructional designers will explore more engaging ways to approach the online discussion.
Adult students in a hybrid master’s degree program found the online discussion boards to be one of the most frustrating and least engaging aspects of their courses. If only the discussions felt more worthwhile, rather than a tedious assignment to be completed, just to earn the grade. “Check the box, move on,” as one student said. Faculty and course designers in fully online and hybrid environments can benefit from sharing with other educators who use the discussion board for online communication, but who search for ways to make the assignments more engaging.
Questions for this conversation session include: What are some of the best practices for student engagement in the discussion board? How can we design discussion board assignments to increase interactivity among students and with the faculty? In a hybrid delivery, how can we connect the online discussions to the face-to-face experience?