Month: June 2023

In my course, I will build the course with equity in mind. The first thing that needs to be included in my syllabus is a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement. When constructing the statement, students’ ethnicity, age, gender, social status, religion, physical disability, etc. need to be considered. In addition to this, not every student in the course can participate in discussions in real-time and have sufficient internet access or adequate technological resources at all times to maximize their learning potential. Therefore, I will conduct the course in an asynchronous format in order to enhance students’ discussion skills. And take into account that in distance courses, some students are not in the same time zone as other students. I will consider modifying the attendance and participation requirements to make the time for students to submit and check the discussion content more relaxed for those who participate in the discussion skills improvement course and practice the skills. This would allow all students to participate in the discussion skills improvement exercises (Arbizo, 2020). In addition, for students with disabilities and those who are not very verbal, the online discussion sessions will help them to escape the negative perceptions of others and stimulate their learning potential. Furthermore, I will offer my help to all students who need it, including the opportunity to meet each other at the beginning of the course. Although it may be more challenging to make these connections in a virtual environment. I will set up a discussion page (2020) before the start of each week and invite students to participate by discussing simple “get to know you” tips. For example, what is your favourite animal? Why do you like this animal? Questions such as. Over the course of several weeks, students will comment on each other and answer questions to get a basic understanding of each other. This will help them to be more outgoing in their discussions.

Reference

Arbizo, A. (2020, June 15). Create an inclusive class climate online. Keep Teaching. https://keepteaching.ucdavis.edu/teach/create-inclusive-class-environment-online

Open Pedagogy is an approach to teaching and learning that promotes student engagement, collaboration, and self-directed learning. Students will be involved in the design of instruction as co-constructors of knowledge and active learners. In the Open Method, students are encouraged to engage in group work by engaging in activities of assessing each other and building knowledge together. Open pedagogy also utilizes the use of digital tools to support online collaboration as well as distance learning. After all discussion activities are completed, students are required to reflect on and assess their learning outcomes and processes. The learning process will foster student initiative and collaboration. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are very important in the Open Pedagogy.

How to better conduct discussions with group members is my focus, and I will then briefly describe the discussion techniques I propose, the details of which will be highlighted in subsequent articles.

1. Before all discussions begin, students’ discussions should relate to the learning material and apply what they have learned. Students should read the learning material in detail and take notes as they read, and ask questions about the reading that appear in the discussion (Discussions in Online Courses: Best Practices and Expectations, n.d.). Students need to first throw out their ideas and encourage other students to discuss their ideas about you.

2. Your posting needs to be as clear and concise as possible, ideally within one to two natural paragraphs, to complete your argumentative posting. Longer posts can be exhausting and may result in no one reading your argument post, leading to an eventual lack of any responses. Such a posting cannot be discussed. (Online Discussions: Tips for Students | Centre for Teaching Excellence, n.d.-b)

3. postings should include the “3C+Q” model, with 3C being compliments, comments, and connections, and Q questioning. This template will help students learn to move the discussion forward (Discussions in Online Courses: Best Practices and Expectations, n.d.).

4. Keep an open mind and accept all new ideas. (Online Discussions: Tips for Students | Centre for Teaching Excellence, n.d.-b). When you disagree with any student’s point of view, do not demean or insult others’ points of view. Of course, if you receive such an unkind response, you should first calm yourself and inform the professor. Sufficient time to calm your emotions will allow you to respond more calmly and professionally (Online Discussions: Tips for Students | Centre for Teaching Excellence, n.d.-b).

5. The Open Pedagogy emphasizes evaluating each other, which is very important in group discussions where students will focus on what they did not focus on because of other students’ comments.

References

Discussions in Online Courses: Best Practices and Expectations. (n.d.). Johns Hopkins Engineering Online. https://ep.jhu.edu/faculty-staff/teaching-technology-resources/discussions-in-online-courses-best-practices-and-expectations/

Online Discussions: Tips for Students | Centre for Teaching Excellence. (n.d.). Uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved June 16, 2023, from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/catalogs/tip-sheets/online-discussions-tips-students