Discussion Boards are a standard component in today’s online college courses. They can be implemented well, but often are not the most exciting aspect of taking an online course. In Episode 3 of the Discussion Frameworks Versus Discussion Boards Series, I gently breakdown five reasons students hate discussion boards. Now, you may not be guilty of any of the things that I share and if you are not, I applaud you; but, if you find that I ever so softly step on your toes, please make sure that you focus on making immediate changes. 🙂
I have listed the reasons from the episode below as well as the solutions. If you would like to hear them, feel free to listen to the episode and share your thoughts here, on YouTube, or via email at hello@kelliealston.com.
5 Reasons Students Hate Discussion Board Forums
Reason #1: You have not explained the purpose and benefits of this activity to your students.
As an adult educator, being familiar with the theories that provide insight on how adults learn is very necessary. Although there is no one size fits all approach to adult learning, understanding these theories can help you be more responsive to their needs. Andragogy, one of the most prevalent theories posits that adults need to know why they are learning or doing something. So, sit down and create an instructional video, an audio, or even a written explanation of the purpose of the discussion board forums and how they will contribute to the application of learning.
Reason #2: Your prompts do not promote the discussion of real-life problems.
Adult learners appreciate learning experiences that encourage problem-solving skills, especially those that can be applied sooner than later. Examine the types of questions you are asking. Perhaps, you might consider including more problem-based or scenario-based learning in the forums. An example of this may be that a problem is presented during the first week of class by way of the discussion board and as students proceed through each week, various aspects of the problem are analyzed, assessed, evaluated, until finally during the last week, solutions to the problem are decided upon by the class via their discussions. To engage students even more, present the problem via a video clip from a movie or tv show, or using whiteboard videos that you can be created by designers at FiveRR or software like Doodly.com.
Reason #3: Due to the constraints of citing references and following a particular style like the APA or MLA, the discussion does not simulate an authentic conversation about a topic, situation, or scenario.
Yes, we know that students must develop their scholarly writing skills, but is the discussion board forum where we want them to do this? Of course, we want them to showcase their application of learning from reputable resources but having to write a mini-paper to respond to a prompt just does not make for tasty and fulfilling conversations. Consider using written assignments outside of the forums for practice with scholarly writing and likening the forum to more of a Reddit or Quora.com type of atmosphere. Trust me. Your students would rather just discuss the topic and not cite references.
Reason #4: The dialogic exchange is prolonged.
Let’s take our time with this one. Now, I know that the reason that online courses include discussion boards is to make-up for the fact that live discussions are considered “inconvenient” these days, therefore, being able to participate in a discussion on your own time within reason is more appealing. However, we must understand that “dialogue only exists if a message or posting is responded to in a timely fashion” according to the Handbook of Distance Education. B.D. Neff takes it further and says that if a message is posted and it does not follow this logical sequence of post-respond-conclude, then it is not dialogue. Okay, so let me paint a picture for you. Your student, Jessica, spends quite a bit of time crafting a quality post based on the criteria you have set. The post goes up on Wednesday. That same student spends even more time responding to three classmates posts as you have required on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Well, the classmates either do not respond to Jessica’s replies to their posts or they do it so late in the week that Jessica is over it. She is so tired of going back and forth checking each day to see if 1) someone responded to her initial post and 2) if her classmates responded to her replies on their posts. As a result, the dialogic exchange becomes laborious and draining and Jessica has now lost her interest.
Honestly, the only ways you can fix this is to make responding to classmates by a certain time a part of the criteria and thereby included in your rubric and to simply emphasize timeliness in your instructional video. But, this issue continues to persist in most online courses so I will just wish you good luck with that.
Reason #5: Students resent the activity because it does not enhance their learning and feels like a waste of time. They would rather use that time to work on meaningful assignments and projects.
Your students see that there are only a handful of their classmates who really spend time creating quality posts. They can name those same students that they plan to respond to each week for that reason AND they can tell who discusses for discussion sake and puts no effort in contributing to the conversation. They assume that those same students must not receive any consequences for the poor contributions because the behavior continues each week and then they see those same students in other courses. So, you already know what that does. It causes resentment. Your students are thinking, “Why should I continue to put so much effort in this discussion when the return on my investment is minimal? “But, they know that they have to because it is required and they care about their grade.
The solution: Hold everyone to the standards that have been set for the discussion board forums if you must include them in your courses. Give very specific feedback to those students who do not submit quality responses and do not reward them with a good grade week after week just because they made an attempt.
I hope these reasons may have brought some things to light as it relates to creating more engaging discussion board forums that students enjoy. I had the “pleasure” of participating in them for three years in my Ph.D. program and it was not an enjoyable experience for me, so I want to minimize the suffering of others. Trust me, I could share more reasons, but I believe that if you work on these five, you will definitely create a better learning experience for your students.
So, please take some time to examine your discussion board prompts in the next 24-48 hours. Do you see that any changes need to be made? Consider getting feedback from your students via a survey that you have created using your LMS or sites like Survey Monkey, Typeform, Survey Planet, and Survey Gizmo. Collect that data and then make the necessary changes based on what your students share.
I strongly dislike discussion boards but I do know that there are effective ways to use them. If you have had positive experiences with them as a student or an instructor, please feel free to share.
Until next time, continue to cultivate dynamic learning communities online.