Discussion strategies

1. Introduction

Discussions encourage learners to express their ideas and opinions, as well as apply their growing knowledge to new situations and problems. It teaches critical thinking and problem solving, along with subject matter. Because they ask learners to make their thoughts visible, they are also perfect opportunities for assessment and feedback. 

Whenever possible, use learner-centered discussions. Encourage students answer each other’s questions and guide the direction of discussion. Offer your own input only when no student can answer, or when it can expand the discussion in a productive direction.

Discussions can be open-ended, driven by the needs and interests expressed by participants, structured to require individual responses to questions or problems, or can involve small group interaction to achieve consensus or to reveal a diversity of opinion. Discussions can also be centered on solving problems, and small groups can focus on collaborative decision making. Moodle Forum activities provide settings for a variety of discussion structures, but external tools can also allow unique forms of discussion and collaboration. 

Note: The basic setup of a Discussion Forum and Chat is treated in Unit 3: Provide opportunities for dialogue and reflection. This unit focuses on the use of settings for specialized discussions, and for evaluation participation in discussions.

2. Open-ended Discussions

You can provide direction, but empower learners to explore a topic together as they wish. They might ask and answer questions of one another, for example. Limit your own input to short, but critical, points to keep the discussion productive. This might include asking probing questions.

Consider summarizing and documenting key points from the discussion to make the outcome more visible and substantial. Prepare one summary slide or page and share it through File, attach it to a Forum post or share on the Moodle site as a Page. Participants will be able to take it with them after the training.

3. Structured Discussions

Structured Discussions

In a structured discussion, a discussion is used to meet specific learning outcomes. The discussion usually has guidelines, which can be both content-oriented, logistical, and technical. 

For example, the discussion rules can restrict the topics, tell when and how to make contributions, require responses to specific questions, call for a formal debate, or ask participants for specific kinds of input, numbers of posts, or numbers of responses.

Examples:

Discussions might be structured in many ways. You can ask participants to:

• Complete one of the assigned readings on a particularly complex topic. Then give them time (in small groups perhaps) to discuss what they learned from it and as a group develop a better understanding of its implications.

• Compare two conceptual models of a phenomenon and discuss which does a better job at explanation.

• Read a case study or other research paper and critically evaluate its structure, processes, and results.

• Compare two research studies with contrasting results and critically evaluate them to decide which might be more valid.

• Conduct a debate or have participants take on different roles and or points of view in the discussion.

• Transform what could be a lecture into a problem to be discussed.

• Instead of just providing a definition of fog and a description of the various mechanisms that can cause it to form, ask a question. “Here are 3 very different locations where fog occurs frequently under certain conditions. Discuss what these situations have in common and how they differ. What can you say about the critical ingredients for fog formation?”

• Instead of describing how observing systems work, ask students to decide what data would be required to adequately forecast the formation and propagation of a tropical cyclone, and from which observations that data might be obtained.

4. Small group discussions

Break students into small discussion groups to encourage everyone to contribute, to bring out a diversity of opinion, and raise more questions. Small groups can discuss the same topic and compare outcomes or discuss different topics and then share results with the large group.

Use Choice to let participants select which group to join, or use automatic group assignment to make the group choice quicker and more random.

Use Forum, Wiki or Chat in a Group mode to create ‘breakout’ rooms for collaboration and discussion.

5. Collaborative Decision Making

In this discussion format, students work together to explore complex problems or issues. They collaborate in analyzing information, drawing conclusions, generating solutions and making decisions. Creativity is encouraged. The team dynamics might evolve during the process, helping to develop teamwork skills. 

Example: Divide learners into two groups and have one group represent meteorologists and the other represent public officials responsible in severe weather situations. First, each group separately discusses what data and information they need and can provide to the other group. Each participant is required to submit at least one idea in a post to the Discussion Forum to continue in the assignment. Then, after compiling and coming to consensus on their input, the groups share their results in an large open forum to see how well they match. Together, the large group develops a list of recommendations for communications during severe weather.

In addition to using the Moodle Forum, external tools like Socrative.com or a collaborative Google doc can be of use.