DOI: 10.58809/mkeu5488 ISSN:

Engaging Students in Distance Learning Discussions

Dorothy Ochs, null null, null null, null null, null null, null null
  • General Medicine
  • Pharmacology (medical)
  • Complementary and alternative medicine
  • Pharmaceutical Science
  • Materials Chemistry
  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Media Technology
  • Forestry
  • General Medicine
  • General Medicine
  • General Engineering
  • General Medicine
  • Applied Mathematics
  • General Mathematics
  • Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • General Medicine
  • General Chemistry
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Purpose: The purpose of this poster is to explore various types of discussion formats in order to find ones that keep the students thoughtfully engaged and motivated. • Methods: The poster will compare and contrast several different types of Discussion Forums utilized by this Midwestern Institution. • Background: Online learning is growing rapidly especially with the COVID-19 crisis. Discussion Boards have been a part of online courses for years as a means of discussion and participation. Do they stimulate the learning process? Students often see Discussions as a “have to do”. They often do not learn from the discussion process. Learning management systems (LMS) have used discussion forums in online courses, which evolved over time. • Student introductions was the initial use of discussion forums. Designated students completed the discussion forums while the rest of the class observed. Next, discussion forums addressed topics covered in reading assignments for that week. Many students still were not interested in discussion forums. Today all students do participate in Discussion Boards; but many times quality is missing. Online course should enhance student participation and build a sense of community (Sharoff, 2019). Discussions need to provide a meaningful online learning experience. It is imperative that the online program incorporates successful strategies in the discussion to allow online learners to understand the nursing concepts and apply their ideas. • Implications: The discussion forum should encourage indepth student interaction, reflections on the course and module objectives. Objective assessment measures the students learning in the discussion by utilizing a grading rubric. • Conflict of Interest: No Conflict of Interest.

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