Toward More Successful Class Discussions – Elizabeth Dzabic and John Ragan, Colorado Community Colleges Online. Presented at Desire2Learn Ignite 2013 in Westminster, Colorado

1. Colorado D2L Ignite 2013
Facilitators: Liz Dzabic & John Ragan
Quality Assurance at CCCOnline
(Colorado Community College System)

2. Overview
• Introduction: Quality Assurance at CCCOnline
• Difficulties inherent in online class discussions
(observations)
• Some problems students could be having
(explaining the previous . . . )
• Advice to solve these problems
• Our Threaded Discussion Rubric and how it
encourages quality discussion (with examples)
• Audience input!

3. “CCCOnline works as an online conduit, providing the service of delivering
courses from [our] 13 land colleges . . .” --CCCOnline.org

4. CCCOnline
• We are totally online (all TPD, QA online also)
• Current stats for fall:
– 350 instructors
– 260 courses
– 827 sections

5. Quality Assurance process
• QA team evaluates discussions within courses
– Everyone gets an evaluation once a year: eclassroom observation
• 100-200 courses reviewed per term, on average
– Any “Needs Improvement” mark means another
review the following semester
– Same rubric for all classes
– Reports released directly to Program Chairs, and
then to instructors

6. Goals of the QA program
• We recognize student interaction/engagement
is critical for student retention, involvement,
success, overall experience in online course
– Encourage excellence in online classrooms
– Foster consistency across courses
– Provide documentation for Chairs & Associate
Deans to advise instructors
– Assure quality for member colleges
(they transcript courses)

7. Common difficulties inherent in class
discussions (observations)
• Students don’t participate, or don’t
participate until the last minute (too little, too
late for meaningful contribution to
conversation)

8. Common difficulties inherent in class
discussions (observations)
• Students don’t post much of substance

9. Common difficulties inherent in class
discussions (observations)
• Students veer off on the wrong track or do not
follow directions

10. Some problems students could be
having (explaining the previous . . . )
• Students don’t understand the
expectations/guidelines
• Students are hindered by the technical
aspects of the course

11. Some problems students could be
having, cont.
• Students are shy or insecure about posting
• Students are intimidated or discouraged by
dominating student or others’ poor etiquette

12. Some problems students could be
having, cont.
• Students are overwhelmed/inhibited by
timing and deadlines in course

13. Solving these problems
• Students don’t understand the
expectations/guidelines:
– good course design, including deadlines in multiple
places and clear directions within each separate
topic
– dedicated Q&A board
– orientation to include
discussion processes

14. Solving these problems
• Students are hindered by the technical
aspects of the course:
– Help Desk access
– timely responses to student emails/posts
– FAQ section
– links to orientation/modules with directions

15. Solving these problems
• Students are shy or insecure about posting:
– provide Introduction topic and respond to each
student (i.e. welcome them all)
– set encouraging tone in own posts

16. Solving these problems
• Students are intimidated or discouraged by
dominating student or others’ poor
etiquette:
– make etiquette expectations clear, perhaps with
Do’s and Don’ts
– moderate closely, re-directing as needed

17. Solving these problems
• Students are overwhelmed/inhibited by
timing and deadlines in course:
– assign deadlines for initial and follow-up posts
– make clear from the outset how many
hours/week class will consume

18. Our Threaded Discussion Rubric and
how it encourages quality discussion
• Presence/Timeliness: Instructor regularly
posts 4-5 (or 3) days each week; instructor
(usually) responds to student posts within 48
hours.
– Good or Best:
• Post something (does not have to be a direct response
to a student) to the open discussion(s) at least 3
separate days during a week
• Respond to students as appropriate, but when posts
call for a response, post within 48 hours

19. Our Threaded Discussion Rubric and
how it encourages quality discussion
• Interaction Quality: Instructor regularly
interacts with all students in a class, both on
an individual and group basis. (umbrella
category)
– Good or Best:
• Respond to groups of students as appropriate
(students give you the cue)
• Respond to students by acknowledging, adding
information as appropriate, and re-engaging by
challenging them with additional questions

20. Interaction Quality example
Ramon--sounds like you have a good handle on the basic
distinctions between physicalism/materialism and
dualism. However, I wondered why specifically you
find fault with physicalism? Part of the reason that I
ask this is that it is probably the most
popular/dominant tradition in contemporary
philosophy. A good many philosophers are physicalists.
With respect to Strong AI, why do you believe that
reasoning is not possible in computers? Does Searle's
Chinese room argument express what a computer
might lack?
What do others think of the Chinese room argument?

21. Another Interaction Quality example
Kristin, Haley and Bethany,
What outstanding and creative work you have shared for
this Unit. Your stories are lively, engaging and full of the
passion that befits Medieval folk on a pilgrimage. Well
done!
Haley, your descriptions of the Cathedral at Chartres are
enlightening. Here are two different virtual tours of
Chartres:
http://www.ithaca.edu/chartres/explore/explore_new.
html and http://gallery.sjsu.edu/chartres/tour.html.
The cathedral is well known for many outstanding
examples of stained glass and architectural elements.

22. Our Threaded Discussion Rubric and
how it encourages quality discussion
• Acknowledgement: Instructor posts regularly
acknowledge students' understanding of
content.
– Good or Best:
– Remember to pat students on the back (as appropriate) or
correct/refer them elsewhere if understanding is lacking.

24. Our Threaded Discussion Rubric and
how it encourages quality discussion
• Additional Posts: Instructor posts regularly
add additional information and direct or
redirect the discussion or appropriately close
it.
– Good or Best:
• As appropriate, add information (can be in many
forms) and keep reins of the discussion: direct it

25. Acknowledgement & Add’l Posts
example
Hi, Janice and Kristi,
Thanks for your collaboration on this problem. It's different from those that have been solved
previously.
Kristi, you were on the right track but that simple arithmetic error threw your answer off. It happens to
the best of us, but when your answer doesn't seem reasonable or it doesn't check with the wording
of the original problem, then it's time to hunt that error down. I made comments in your solution
below. Please check them out. Recommendations:
1) Always get us off to a good start by restating the original problem and its directions.
2) Please, please, please label your steps as Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, etc. That enables your reviewers to
refer to specific steps of your solution if need be.
3) Check your answers with the original wording of the problem. That may have helped you find your
error.
Janice, thank you for your timely response. You put a GREAT DEAL OF WORK into your reply. Thank
you! You arrived at the correct answers by correcting the error found in Kristi's solution. I
appreciate you taking your role as poster very seriously.
Nice teamwork, you two. Good luck in wrapping up Unit D and the Vocab Quiz if you haven't done so
already. Keep up your good work within this fast-paced course.
Prof . Y

26. Our Threaded Discussion Rubric and
how it encourages quality discussion
• Engagement/Re-engagement: Instructor posts
regularly re-engage individual learners as well
as the entire class through the use of
additional questions at the same or higher
level.
– Good or Best:
• Ask questions about what students post.
• These can be judiciously placed throughout discussion.

27. Engagement/Re-engagement example
In each of the discussions that were reviewed, she posted several
questions which were directed to the whole class, as well as
questions for individual students. An example of each is shown
below, and one of the examples is a good reminder that questions to
the class do not need to be lengthy.
Hello Crystal,
I am sorry that what sparked your interest was a sick friend. An
interesting pathogen, though.
Can you tell us about the role that fungus plays in its environment?
-Dr. X
Hello Class,
Samantha has a great question. Who can address this?
-Dr. X

28. Your turn . . .
• What discussion methods do you use at your
college?

29. Credits
• MorgueFile, Wikimedia Commons, CCCS.edu
(photos)
• Threaded Discussion Rubric at
http://ccconline.org/Instructor_Resources/Instructor_Handbo
ok/Discussion_Evaluation
• Debbie Morrison, 10/8/13, “Ten Reasons Students Don’t
Participate in Discussion and How to Remedy Each,” Online
Learning Insights blog