Discussion Boards: how to make them more engaging and equitable

Presented by: T.L. Brink, Professor of Psychology, Crafton Hills College

Speaker Bio:

Dr. T.L. Brink has spent the last 25 years teaching psychology online for the San Bernardino Community College District. He has authored or edited twenty books, including four textbooks. He has degrees from Claremont, San Jose State, Santa Clara, and the University of Chicago. He has previously served on the faculties of Universidad Iberoamericana, University of Redlands, University of California Riverside, Loma Linda University School of Public Health, and Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Brink lives in southern California, Chicago, and Mexico.

Session Info:

This session will cover specific policies, practices, ploys, and prompts for making asynchronous discussion forum posting more engaging and equitable. Specific examples will be given for psychology, critical thinking, and world religion courses. We look at examples of what does not work and what has worked (for me). The guidelines include: 1. using content that is student-generated, rather than regurgitated, 2. securing structure with useful templates, 3. getting students to read each other’s posts. Examples will include how to use threads based on : 1. examples of course concepts, 2. YouTube videos, 3. scholarly articles, 4. field trips, 5. research project development, 6. critiquing each others’ projects, 7. reviewing for the exam. Tough questions such as feedback and grading will be addressed.

Session Outcomes:

• Construct effective discussion board threads.
• Give useful feedback on student posts.
• Factor discussion board participation into student evaluations and grades.

Session Resources:

Discussion Boards BRINK