Motivating students to participate in online discussions 1One of the important elements for any educational environment is interaction (Miyazoe & Anderson, 2010). Thurmond (2003) defined interaction as: …the learner’s engagement with the course content, other learners, the instructor, and the technological medium used in the course. True interactions with other learners, the instructor, and the technology results in a reciprocal exchange of information. The exchange of information is intended to enhance knowledge development in the learning environment. Depending on the nature of the course content, the reciprocal exchange may be absent – such as in the case of paper printed content. Ultimately, the goal of interaction is to increase understanding of the course content or mastery of the defined goals (p. 4). Based on above definition, interaction with content, peers and teachers in online environments can enhance students learning outcomes. Moreover, Lee and Choi (2011) found that online interactions are associated with increased satisfaction rates and decreased course dropouts. One of the most widely used tools for interaction and collaboration in online courses is the asynchronous online discussion forums. The online discussion forum (ODF) is an “e-learning platform that allows students to post messages to the discussion forum, interact and receive feedback from other students and instructor, and foster deeper understanding towards the subject under study” (Pena-Shaff , et al., 2005). Many researchers (e.g. Picciano, 2002; Thurmond & Wambach, 2004) reported that continuous, extensive contact with the course content through asynchronous online discussion forums in an online learning environment can increase enthusiasm for the course and may improve quality and quantity of learning as a result of participating in the discussions. Moreover, Perkins and Murphy (2006) found that participation in discussion forums can improve students’ critical thinking skills and promote active learning. According to Dennen (2005), “Generating true learning dialogue as opposed to a collection of loosely affiliated posted messages on a class discussion board can be challenging” (P. 127). Regarding student engagement with and participation in an online discussion forum, Mokoena (2013) conducted a qualitative study and found that several factors such as giving clear directions; setting clear expectations to help students understand what is expected of them; providing instructors’ feedback; promoting motivation; social presence, and well-designed discussion board activities can be useful strategies for enhancing students’ participation in online discussions. In line with this idea, Chen and Caropreso (2004) found that students’ personality traits such as extraversion (a tendency to seek out and engage in social interactions), agreeableness (reflecting the quality of continuing interaction), and openness (reflecting an interest in intellectual and imaginative experiences) can affect their contribution in an online discussion. Furthermore, they added that students who are sociable, friendly, helpful, cooperative, and broad minded tended to contribute in asynchronous online discussions. Based on above discussion, it is clear that asynchronous online discussion forums are effective tools that help learners interact with other learners about the content of the course and learn deeply. Instructors as a facilitator should be proactive, make their expectations explicit, be clear about their purpose, and organize and design activities well.
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Motivating students to participate in online discussions 2Interactions and the type of interactions play a crucial role in increasing the quality of instruction in an online learning environment. Also, the online discussion forum as an effective asynchronous interaction tool can facilitate the transfer of tacit knowledge by ensuring interaction between students and lecturers (Mokoena, 2013). Online discussion boards “build class community by promoting discussion on course topics and facilitate students learning by allowing them to view and respond to the work of others” (TeacherStream, 2009, P.2). In other words, an online discussion forum gives students and teachers opportunities not only to post the messages or respond the messages at any time and at any where they like and see and review the posts many times but also it enhances the participation of students who may feel inhibited when required to engage in discussions in a traditional classroom setting (Kanuka, 2005). Furthermore, online discussion forums are one of the effective tools for reflection and critical analysis (Mokoena, 2013). Hence, instructors can use this tool as one of the indicators to evaluate students’ engagement and participation in online courses. This tool can be used as one of the class activities to meet specific course objectives and should be aligned with course content. In order to use effectively the online discussion forums, instructors should identify clear reasons or goals for using asynchronous discussion forums, give students clear expectations about online discussion requirements, deadlines, and grading procedures; ask good questions to foster critical thinking skills, use different types of asynchronous discussion activities (lower level activities and higher level activities), model effective feedback to promote peer responses, provide clear guidelines regarding how their work will be assessed, participate actively in the discussion and provide feedback on students’ posts. Strategies to motivate students to participate in online discussionI will use discussion forums as one of the activities in my class to offer students a structured opportunity to interact with each other online. These online forum activities can enhance students’ creative thinking skills and their statistical thinking skills. To create effective online discussion forums and motivate students to participate in online discussion, I will use the following strategies:
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