Instructions for Student Facilitators of Online Discussions
Research on facilitating discussion forums indicates that you can encourage participation by using the following guidelines. Your instructor may also use these guidelines in evaluating your role as a facilitator.
- Rephrase
Suggest that participants rephrase in their own words the question before they answer it.
- Recapitulate
Have participants recapitulate the previous speaker's main point.
- Draw inferences
Have participants develop the implications of the idea articulated by the last speaker.
- Analyze
Suggest that participants give a short analysis of the idea articulated by the last speaker.
"Careful listening binds the group together and to the task at hand. It focuses participants' energy on a single target. It fosters group cohesion and intimacy. It creates a garden where intellectual creativity can bloom amidst respect, personal support, and constructive criticism."
Adapted from Leonard, Herman B. 1991. "With Open Ears: Listening and the Art of Discussion Leading," pp. 137–51 in C. Roland Christensen, David A. Garvin, and Ann Sweer, eds. Education for Judgment:The Artistry of Discussion Leadership. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Take a look also at these Sample Instructions for Participants in Online Discussions.
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