Pedagogical Roles and Implementation Guidelines for Online Communication Tools

Gina Maria Funaro and Frances Montell
Stanford Learning Lab
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-2060
FAX: 650-725-5916

I. INTRODUCTION

The use of online communication tools in higher education is increasing rapidly and has become an important topic as seen in educational journals and technical e-journals (e.g., "Web-based Learning and Collaboration," cover of Computer, September 1999), and even popular magazines (e.g., "The Internet Age," cover of BusinessWeek, October 4, 1999.) But as with other new educational technologies, it is not so much the tool that improves teaching and learning but how the instructor integrates the tool into the curriculum and into the educational setting [1], [2]. An important step in integrating technology successfully is beginning with an explicit definition of the pedagogical role for that technology [1]. Core to this task is understanding the types of roles asynchronous discussion tools can successfully play in higher education.

The goal of this study was to find out how twelve instructors teaching various Introduction to Humanities (IHUM) courses at Stanford University utilized an asynchronous discussion tool in the teaching of their sections. In addition, we were interested in their perceptions of the value the particular technology added to their students' learning and to their teaching. In other words, what pedagogical opportunities were afforded by the use of the technology? Our aim was to glean from these descriptions and opinions a set of pedagogical roles this type of technology can play in higher education and a set of guidelines to help increase the possibility of achieving those pedagogical results using the tool.

II. BACKGROUND

The Stanford Learning Lab (SLL) is a research and development center aimed at enhancing teaching and learning through the use of technology. The Lab has focused many of its efforts on improving learning in large lecture courses. This paper is part of a larger, ongoing investigation that started in fall 1997 with the study of several pedagogical and learning-technology innovations in The Word and the World, a freshman course in Stanford's Area One department, which introduces students to the humanities. An assessment team is currently investigating the impact of the innovations on the students through focus groups, student questionnaires, class assessment data, and online discussion archives.

The project was extended in 1998-99 to all Area One courses. The target of the expanded study was further evaluation of one innovation from the earlier project-asynchronous online discussion in lecture courses. The project includes the formative development of a customized online discussion tool previously called the Forum and now called Panfora which has been informed by this ongoing implementation now in its third year.

In fall 1998, winter 1999 and spring 1999, all Area One faculty including senior lecturers and teaching fellows (TFs) in charge of teaching sections were given the option to integrate the Forum into their courses. Faculty decided how the Forum would be integrated into their curriculum. During the fall quarter, twenty-five TFs and three senior lecturers in four Area One classes used the Forum while in winter quarter eleven TFs in three courses used it.

In the fall quarter, informal discussions with TFs using the Forum revealed that the degree to which the Forum was integrated into the course curriculum had a major effect on the impact the Forum had on students' learning experiences. Furthermore, the fellows varied in their motivation, to use the technology, in their goals, in their methods and in their success. These informal findings led us to study the practices and the insights of the TFs during the winter quarter as described in the Methodology section of this paper.

A companion study by Mariatte Denman, one of the TFs for The Word and the World course, examines the content of the Forum postings of three of the Area One courses. She explores the correlation between Forum assignment types and student postings. She concludes that specific uses of the Forum foster higher thinking skills and she classifies the types of assignments used in the three courses according to their function: communication, content and skills [3].

Description of the Technology: The Forum
The Forum functions much like a newsgroup but has several features that were created especially for the higher education lecture class environment. Individuals with access permission to a Forum post messages and responses that are then displayed in a persistent, common, virtual space. Photographs next to messages help students and instructors in a large class link faces with ideas. Messages are organized by threads, meaning that an original posting is linked to all its replies, which are displayed hierarchically through indentation. The threads can be viewed by subject categories, by author, and chronologically. Instructors determine their own subject categories, allowing the organization of the Forum messages to reflect their curriculum. Students logging on to the Forum see a listing of the most recent postings and any replies to their earlier messages as well as announcements from their instructors. Digital images and word-processing documents can be attached to messages, allowing faculty to distribute materials to students and enabling student groups to share project information.

III. METHODOLOGY

The case study approach [4] was used to capture the variety of experiences the TFs had using the Forum. Analysis of the information looked for convergence on a set of pedagogically sound roles the Forum could play in similar courses and a set of actions instructors could take to increase their chances of success with the technology.

At the end of winter quarter, interviews and survey data were collected from twelve TFs. Four investigators jointly developed the protocol and performed the interviews [4]. These interviews examined the ways TFs used the Forum, the role they intended it to play in the course, how well the Forum accomplished that role, and how they felt it affected various aspects of their teaching and their students' learning. Archival records of the discussion Forums during all three quarters were consulted as additional physical artifacts [4] to understand how the Forum was used.

IV. FINDINGS

A. Pedagogical Roles for Online Discussions
The Forum can play a unique role in a course--one that complements the educational activities of lecture and section. Although many of the following activities have been implemented successfully without the use of the Forum, instructors in our study reported significant advantages to using the Forum to accomplish the following goals.

1. Informal Writing
a. Students can be required to do weekly writing assignments without overwhelming the instructors with papers to grade. Informal public posting is a valuable way for students to engage with the material that is different from longer formal writing assignments and from off the cuff in-class discussions.  Because students' responses are posted publicly, they tend to respond to online assignments thoughtfully without requiring the instructor to engage in the time-consuming task of grading. 

One instructor described this role as follows (paraphrased):

Students have to remain active in class. Daily writing and activity with the text gets you more involved. Years ago, I asked students to do weekly informal writing but it was too hard to keep up with. I realize now that the Forum can play this role. The increased student engagement with the material contributes to better discussions and students are more on top of the texts.

b. Further benefits of frequent informal writing as experienced using synchronous electronic discussion are described in Kevin LaGrandeur's article, "Using Electronic Discussion to Teach Literary Analysis." He states that electronic discussions help students learn the value of writing drafts, reworking their arguments and backing up their ideas with evidence before turning them into essays, and using online discussions as a resource for their graded essays [5]. Bonk and Cummings state that, "for those who hold that writing enhances thinking, the Web may be viewed as a gigantic thinking tool" [6].

2.  Student-led Discussion
a. The Forum provides many students with the opportunity to lead a discussion without affecting the success of in-class discussions. There may not be enough time in a section to teach students how to lead a discussion as well as to cover the course material.  On the Forum students can initiate a topic and work out their own guidelines for discussion.  The Forum can provide a useful learning ground for leading an intellectual discussion because of the absence of time constraints and full agenda of the section meetings. 

An instructor reported that (paraphrased)...

It teaches them how to pose good questions. They are working out on their own a whole set of protocols for the class. Students have a more sophisticated sense for the nature of a seminar now. It helps them understand collective inquiry...  The difference between class and the Forum is where the discussion starts.  In seminar it starts with me.  I set the agenda.  On the Forum, they set the agenda so when I participate on the Forum, I'm more on the margin.  I can feel more comfortable in class being in charge and leading them from A to B because they have the Forum to set their own agenda.

b. Linda Harasim and her colleagues write in their book, Learning Networks: a Field Guide to Teaching and Learning Online, that "network learning enables students to assume much of the responsibility for their learning." Their chapter on "Teaching Online" contains good pedagogical practices that will help create an online and classroom environment that enables students to become good moderators and effective participants. For example, they suggest assigning "students to review and reorganize the material presented thus far" so that "students view their evolving discussion as a data resource" [7].

3. Peer Learning
a. Some instructors who believe in learner-centered principles of education think that their role is to be a guide and that the students should run the section discussions as much as possible.  The Forum can facilitate this.  It provides students with a space of their own where they can learn from each other.  They can share their thinking with each other and comment on each other's ideas. Students appreciate having a window into the thinking processes of their peers. The asynchronous format also allows students to work through difficult texts and concepts more slowly, and to help each other understand the material.

b. Student surveys done by Bonk and Cummings indicated that "students appreciated the openness and honesty of Web-based conferencing as well as the willingness of peers to provide helpful feedback and queries" [6].

4. Communication Across Sections
On the Forum, student discussion does not have to be limited to the small portion of the class that attends the same discussion section.  Students can post their ideas to the whole class and find a group of students that shares their interests.  Although most of the subject categories in the Forums in this project kept the discussions of each section separate, several instructors regretted this decision. Some believe that the real benefit of the Forum is the opportunity to find common interests and share knowledge with a wider group of students than those with which they have already discussed the material in person. Therefore, deciding on subject headings is a critical part of planning before implementation of the Forum. Some instructors advise that if your goal is to provide a venue for students to pursue in-depth discussion of topics in which they are particularly interested, organize the subject headings by topic, not by section leader or section number.

5. Communication Anytime, Anywhere
a. The Forum's asynchronous format gives students time to think about their contributions to the discussion and to craft their responses in order to convey their ideas most clearly and convincingly.  It also allows instructors to respond to students more thoughtfully than they may be able to "on the fly" in section. 

Some instructors have found that activities such as debates and mock trials work better on the Forum than in section.  In class students may have only a few minutes to prepare their presentations.  The number of students and the length of the class session limit the amount of time each student has to present.  On the Forum students can take their time and approach the assignments more thoughtfully.

b. Bonk and Cummings describe how transforming a traditional debate in their class into a Web debate resulted in students consulting "the original sources for arguments used by their opponents, thereby significantly enhancing the quality of their rebuttals and reaction papers" [6].

6. Alternative Format for Student Participation
a. Some students may be shy.  Others may have so much to say that they cannot get to it all in one class session.  Some non-native English speakers may lack the confidence to participate orally in class. Other students may not be assertive enough to break into a heated discussion, or may feel that they do not have enough time to prepare their thoughts in a fast-paced discussion.  On the Forum, all these students have a slower-paced, less time-limited venue to work through and present their ideas. 

b. In student surveys taken after using an online discussion tool in a web-based educational psychology course, Bonk and Cummings found that "conferencing tools encourage students to participate 'in class' without normal inhibition, or as one student put it, 'they aren't scared to say anything'" [6].

7. Insight into Students' Thought Processes for Instructors
Through reading students' online postings, instructors can monitor students' level of understanding of the material, catch common misconceptions, and gauge student interest in particular topics.  This can help faculty and instructors with their class preparations. 

8. Better Preparation for Class
The Forum can provide an ongoing environment for students to reflect on texts, ask questions, and test out their interpretations and syntheses. Instructors can give directed assignments on the Forum that require students to read particular texts and discuss specific concepts.  Instructors in the study advise others to make deadlines early enough so that students and section leaders have time to review the discussion before class.  The following example is an assignment from the course, Great Works II: "Choose: 'Odysseus is in the wrong' or 'Odysseus is in the right.' Please post your textual evidence, thoughts and arguments in defense of this thesis as a response to this posting."

B. Guidelines for Using Online Discussion
Experienced users of the Forum have found that it can be a valuable addition to a course.  However, in order to get the most out of it faculty should think carefully about their goals for the Forum and how they will integrate it into the course. 

1. Plan for Forum Use Before the Course Begins
It is important for instructors to think carefully about how the Forum will be used in the course and what purpose it will serve. The faculty and section instructors should all be involved in this planning so that they share a similar perspective on how the Forum will be used.
 
If the students' postings will contribute to their course grades, think about whether they will be evaluated on the quantity of postings, the quality of postings, or both.  Also plan how the Forum will be presented to students, and whether there will be any in-class demonstrations.

As one instructor suggests, "You need to have specific tasks to give the students some direction.  You can't just tell them 'Discuss freely.' You need to think about how the Forum complements other course elements."

2. Schedule Forum Assignments in Relation to Lectures and Sections
Remember to leave adequate time for students to make postings, respond to others' comments, and read through the discussion before class.  It is also important for section leaders to have adequate time after an assignment is due to read through the students' responses and plan section accordingly.  Incorporate special Forum assignments into the course's requirements, and make sure these are spread out evenly throughout the quarter.  Coordinate the due dates of Forum assignments with those of papers and exams; otherwise students may neglect the Forum assignment. 

3. Refer to Forum Discussions in Class
Instructors can relate Forum discussions to other course elements by citing Forum comments in lecture or section.  Students appreciate knowing that faculty read and respond to their ideas.  Keeping up with the Forum can be time-consuming, however, so be sure to set realistic expectations for how many postings you will read and respond to each week and make these expectations clear to the students. 

4. Provide Students With Assistance in Leading Online Discussions
To increase students' level of success as discussion leaders, instructors need to model ways to produce a lively, constructive discussion at the beginning of the quarter. Instructors can hand out some example questions or printouts of interesting threads from previous Forums. Instructors in the study learned that the best questions for initiating ongoing discussions were open-ended enough to allow students to present their personal perspectives but were focused on students' interpretations of the texts so as not to stray too far afield. Modeling being the Forum leader during the first week of class can be effective; however, it must be prefaced with a description of the instructor's typical role on the Forum after the first week. Mariatte Denman, a TF for the Word and the World course who conducted a study on assignment types and student postings includes a hand out for students in her report entitled, "Nobody responds to me!" See Table 1.

Table 1. Handout for Students in Word & World, Fall 1999 by Mariatte C. Denman.

5. Summaries of Forum Postings in Section Are Not Necessary 
It is important to bring the online discussion into the class, but several instructors found that simply requiring students to summarize the Forum discussion during section was not very useful.  Instead they recommend that students be assigned to facilitate the Forum discussion each week and to bring in a few interesting ideas or discussion questions without summarizing the whole discussion.  The emphasis should be on presenting new ideas or moving the Forum discussion forward, rather than recapping what has already been discussed outside of class.

6. Avoid Redundancy of Forum Assignments
The Forum has several unique features that make it well suited to play a particular role in the course.  Try to develop Forum assignments that build on these features and that do not reiterate in-class activities or other assignments.  The debates and trials mentioned above in section V.A.5., "Communication anytime, anywhere" are good examples. Instructors found that extending these activities into the classroom was unproductive.

7. Limit Your Expectations for Initial Implementation
Successful integration of technology comes with personal experience. Instructors should not be too ambitious in their expectations for the Forum the first time they use it. They will be better prepared to successfully integrate it into a particular course after experiencing aspects that work and do not work well. 
An instructor offered this advice: "The first time you may be disappointed because you don't really know how to use it as a tool. So don't be put off."

8. Start With a Non-graded First Assignment
Starting the course with a non-credit assignment such as a short biography can be a non-threatening, interesting way to get students on line and help create a feeling of community.  Bonk and Cummings report that these types of initial introductions tend to "foster shared knowledge and mutual understanding among Web-course participants" [6].

9. Do Not Be Afraid to Make Changes
If the Forum is not being used as expected, the instructor should talk to the students about it and make changes if necessary. Schedule a brief review or evaluation several weeks into the term to assess how students are using the Forum, how they feel about it, and how well your expectations are being met. 

10. Student Forum Requirements Should Be Ongoing
If told to lead one thread a quarter without an additional weekly requirement, students do not get anyone but the computer-savvy students replying to their thread.  On the other hand, requiring students to post too often may cause resentment and discourage voluntary participation above the minimum required.  Short assignments once a week should be an adequate amount to encourage participation.

11. Regularly Browse the Forum and Refer to Postings in Class
Regular reading of the Forum and integration of ideas from the Forum into class discussions shows students that the instructor takes the Forum seriously. When the instructor refers to a Forum posting but does not summarize its content in lecture, students realize that the Forum is an integral part of the class in which they need to participate, just like lectures and readings. Soon ideas and discussions from section, lecture, and online will blur into one. Besides, students appreciate having their ideas cited.  

12. Play a Facilitator Role On Line
Participate in the Forum enough to show interest, but let students dominate.  It is important pedagogically to try not to adjudicate or contribute a definitive answer.  After teaching a web-based educational psychology course, Bonk and Cummings warn that, "if an instructor's long-winded opinions or pointed statements are inserted too quickly and forcefully into an electronic conversation, student interaction and knowledge building will be stifled" [6].

One instructor offered the following example:

I tried to strike a balance between contributing enough so they knew I was around and involved but to blend into the group and be unobtrusive.  I didn't necessarily participate every week but tried every couple of weeks in each section to post something.  My postings were things like: "That reminds me of..." or "Look at this other thread because it's really relevant..." 

William Cashin's article "Improving Discussions" contains useful recommendations on how to facilitate a discussion and ask questions that encourage interaction among students.  Even though his ideas refer to in-class discussions, most of the principles apply to the online environment as well, such as "request examples or illustrations" and "use divergent questions" [8].

V. CONCLUSIONS

With the rapid advances in technology, the proliferation of Web-based tools at the disposal of our universities, and the increasing technical skill level of incoming freshman, there remains an urgent need to understand the pedagogical roles online communication tools can play and how to get the most out their use. The experiences of the TFs in the Area One department at Stanford University gave us a base from which to draw some salient roles for the tools. The literature reveals that these roles can help develop students who are active, engaged learners, feel responsibility for their own learning, and can work collaboratively with their peers to become a community of scholars.

This study has allowed us to gain some qualitative information about the use of online communication networks; however, the experiences of the instructors were affected by many variables.  Further research is needed in order to disentangle these variables and to test out the hunches and interpretations of the instructors. What follows are some of the variables to take into consideration. The instructors varied in their experience with the technology, in their motivation to use the Forum, and in the goals they hoped the Forum would achieve. The level of student interest in the subject matter had a great impact on their participation both online and in class since the courses were required for all freshman. Each class presented a distinct social dynamic and personality that was reflected in the online culture as well.

Since the technology was being piloted for the first time, modifications were implemented during the year, other institutional resources played a role in implementation of the project, and there were technical problems as well as organizational issues which surely affected our study. The single most influential variable that affected the impact the online communication tool had on learning was the varying degrees of planning for integration of the tool and the level of faculty participation in that planning process.

REFERENCES

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