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Developing High Quality Interaction and Reflection through On-Line Forums
Katya Toneva
Year of posting: 2008
Abstract:
Teaching/learning research project
Developing High Quality Interaction and Reflection through On-Line Forums
Dr Katya Toneva, ICT Department, Esher College, Thames Ditton, Surrey, UK
The development of an adequate exam technique is one of the prerequisites for successful A-level ICT course completion. Our teaching experience shows that the students need a lot of practice and support to advance their skills to enable them to answer the exam questions.
It is suggested that on-line discussions could offer high quality interaction, reflection, and continuous feedback. Having the student motivation and relevant e-facilitation we could expect that on-line forums would help the students build up relevant skills to answer the exam questions. In addition, the discussions in an on-line environment could help students to develop their written communication skills.
Since the beginning of this academic year two groups of A2 ICT students have been involved in interactive and reflective online activities based on past exam questions. We have already run twenty eight forums (fourteen forums per group). All the forums, student contributions and teacher summaries are available on Portal.
Before the commencement of the online discussion, the students were briefed, in a face to face environment, on the task they needed to do. Some of the on-line questions were completed during the lessons and other on-line discussions were developed beyond lesson time.
The students were well motivated to learn, and to contribute to the forums (the on-line discussions objectives and content have matched their A2 ICT exam needs and interests - developing of knowledge and skills to answer to exam type questions).
At the commencement, the teacher acted as an e-facilitator and encouraged the students to contribute to the forums. The big advantage of asynchronicity is that everyone can explore and reflect on information at their own pace.
The teacher provided individual feedback for each of the students and the students contributed again to the forum reaching the right answers in quick succession. During the sessions, the teacher provided summaries indentifying the strengths and common weaknesses in the students' answers. At the beginning, there was not a good dynamic of student-student dialogue. However, the interactions student-teacher and teacher-student became very effective. The students needed a great deal of encouragement and guidance before becoming active contributors.
Gradually, the students started to process information successfully and became more proactive in their learning. They showed good skills to share ideas, to provide constructive feedback and to consider the others' feedback. At this stage the dialog student-student showed a better dynamic together with student-teacher and teacher-student interactions.
After a few on-line discussions, a high quality interaction student-student was achieved. The students were able to develop the forums themselves in the right direction and the e-facilitation role provoked strong reflective skills. They took personal ownership of their learning experiences and assisted peers within their study groups. The teacher provided the final summary of the forums evaluating both the members and the e-facilitator contributions, confirming the correct answers and re-enforcing the relevant exam technique.
Dowload the full study here:
- Using Online Discussion_Forums_Theoretical_model.doc
- Using_Online_Discussion_Forums_Practical_Guide.doc
Study
Dowload the full study here:
- Using Online Discussion_Forums_Theoretical_model.doc
- Using_Online_Discussion_Forums_Practical_Guide.doc
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