I like this structure Sally.  In fact I'll call it the "3 post model".  I can 
see how this approach would encourage a little more deeper thinking that just a 
quick post.  I'm sure the rubric helps as well.  Also, spreading out the 
posting gives students some time to churn the ideas around in their head a bit 
and hopefully come back to the discussion with ideas that are a little more 
well thought-out than what you might have gotten if you required the students 
to write one post and that's it.  Thanks!

Michael

Michael A. Britt, Ph.D.
[email protected]
http://www.ThePsychFiles.com
Twitter: mbritt




On Mar 26, 2013, at 5:07 PM, swalters <[email protected]> wrote:

>  
>  
>  
> I find a good way to elicit participation is to give fairly structured 
> instructions such as "in Post 1 summarize blah blah blah and suggest 3 areas 
> to explore further and why; post 2 (due a couple of days later) respond to 
> some one else's post 1 with detailed suggestions for their 3 areas, and post 
> 3 (due a couple of days later) - summarize, reflect etc. It might seem a 
> little directive but you can push the thinking in specific directions and 
> elicit critical thinking, response and reflection by requiring them to 
> respond accordingly. I also give group activities where they have to discuss 
> online how to construct a resource for something we're studying and then post 
> and discuss content. My students have told me that they like the 3 staggered 
> deadlines idea because they know there will be something to respond to and it 
> also stops them from making 3 fast posts without much thinking behind them. 
> All of my discussion are in groups of 3 to 6. You can also use a rubric so 
> that students understand that there posts should move the dialogue along, 
> rather than repeat or reiterate.
> 
> Sally
> Capilano U
> 
> On 03/26/13, Michael Britt <[email protected]> wrote:
>> 
>> I think a lot of the "success" in online threaded conversations depends in 
>> part on what questions you ask and I was wondering what others on TIPS 
>> thought about this.  I was just looking at Ellen Langer's book, Mindful 
>> Learning because I recalled that she addressed this issue. One of her 
>> memorable examples was that we should not ask students, "Is it possible to 
>> prevent pregnancy using a nasal spray?" (which would probably lead to a 
>> response like, "Ummm...no") but rather phrase it this way, "How could we use 
>> a nasal spray to prevent pregnancy?".  
>> 
>> Does anyone else know of any other resources/research on this topic of 
>> phrasing questions in a way that really stimulates thinking?
>> 
>> Michael
>> 
>> Michael A. Britt, Ph.D.
>> [email protected]
>> http://www.ThePsychFiles.com
>> Twitter: mbritt
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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