Participating
If a student does not fully participate in Discussions it is hard to understand that student's learning style, though we said it would be dependent. I sometimes have students who do very well on exams but do not fully participate in Discussions, or if they do, their sentences are very short. Some students stick to themselves and are not very involved in talk, but this doesn't mean the student is struggling or dependent. In fact, some are at the top of the class. I find this also happens in a face-to-face class.
Marie,
If discussion is a vital component of the class, do we allow the students NOT to participate in the discussion because they don't feel like it even though they do well on tests? If that is the case then what is the value of the discussions for any student in the course. If we build elements in to any course shouldn't we be able to define their "value" in terms of the students' learning and help students understand the value of all of the course assignments?
Herbert Brown III
I don't know if I would classify this student as "dependent." I think it really depends on the student. For students who work and have families I think it's very challenging for them to find the time to post on the discussion board. I have had students who had minimal participation on the discussion board, but did very well on assignments/quizzes.
Herb,
That is a good point, if a test is created that can be taken without the benefit of the discussion board and student can earn an A. I would restructure the course so that the discussion boards build on the test components and make the test model the discussion in a sense.
As students today are all about short term motivation. If they believe they don't have to complete the discussion boards and can still get an A they most likely won't value the boards.
Hello Russell,
I have students who are great on completing their IP's but when it comes to the DB they either do not participate or just right a single comment on another students post. The DB is meant to represent a classroom just as you would on ground. On ground my students are challenged to bring points of discussion to the class and this seems to work great. Their is always that one student who does not participate and appears to be withdrawn but I reach out to that student to bring them in to the discussion.
I find this is the biggest issue I have. Getting them to turn in the assignments on time. the assignments are not overly challenging it is just the amount of time they have to put into the class. Many of my students have a family and jobs that take up most of their time and online classes get put on the back burner. I send out emails many times during the class and one of them is always "tell me what you are up to, how's life?" I enjoy reading these emails, it helps me shape the class.
