Oh discussions, the often-dreaded exercise of the online experience. The design of a discussion can turn an exciting topic into a banal exercise where students are drafting large, online speeches and grasping at straws to provide two “meaningful” (hello subjectivity!) responses to other colleagues’ long speeches to meet the requirements in time.
When writing discussions, you'll want to ask yourself a few questions which will help define the types of prompts you'll prepare for your students: What level are my students at in this topic/field? (entry level, mid-level, mastery level, etc.) and At this point in the semester, what is the goal for my students? (foundational knowledge, critical thinking, application, etc.)
