Online Facilitation Strategies: Panel Presentation and Discussion

1
Online Facilitation Strategies Panel
Presentation and Discussion

• Stan Freeda
• Barbara Patterson
• Pam Waters

2
1. Craft good questions that stimulate discussion
and engagement

• Questions should involve higher order thinking so
  that they stimulate discussion. Questions that
  ask for facts or opinions (lower level) leave no
  room for discussion or development of the
  concept. 

3
2. Know your audience and offer
appropriate assignment choices for them

• While facilitating a course on Instructional
  Approaches for Teachers of English Language
  Learners, I quickly realized my course was made
  up primarily of coaches and Special Education
  teachers rather than the expected ELL teachers. 
  Assignments had to be modified or added to meet
  the needs of these learners and make learning
  relevant to their particular situations.

4
3. Create an interactive learning environment

• Its important to stimulate students to interact
  with one another rather than depend solely on the
  facilitator. This enables them to take
  information provided and turn it into meaningful
  knowledge by constructing what they know and
  sharing it with their peers.

5
4. Reflect the question to engage student thought

• When students ask questions, or are confused
  about a concept, it is easy to give them the
  answer, but thinking in the entire class stops
  when you do that.  Students naturally think that
  the teacher knows all the answers and wants a
  specific one. Reflect questions back to students
  in the threads, offering advice on what to think
  about and where they might find the answer,
  posing further questions to think about, asking
  the class to help out.

6
5. Provide feedback often and establish a
non-threatening atmosphere 

• A lot of adult learners are not as tech-savvy as
  their students and are easily intimidated by the
  idea of an on-line course.  Once immersed  in the
  course they are usually "hooked".

7
6. Be present, involved and communicative

• The ability to clearly communicate expectations,
  personalize the learning environment and inspire
  thoughtful discussions will help ensure a
  successful learning experience.
• Be visible online to keep the students
  participating and let them know someone cares
  about their success.
• Send emails to create personal connections.

8
7. Write a good retrospective at the end of the
unit

• While unit introductions are good, its also
  important to summarize the discussions and point
  out what students have learned at the end of the
  unit. 
• You can still include a short introduction to the
  new unit, but students may be more appreciative
  of reading about all they have accomplished in
  the past unit, and how it all fits together.
• Retrospectives are a good reinforcement of
  learning, and it keeps students focused on the
  objectives of the course.

9
8. Clear expectations of discussions are
necessary for learners to engage in meaningful
dialog

• Lead by example with thought provoking questions
  rather than simply giving the expected answer.
• Discuss your evaluation rubric and criteria for
  successful discussion entries.

10
9. Keep a sense of humor!

• Having a sense of humor goes a long way in a
  sometimes frustrating environment... i.e. a
  student can't access the discussion board or the
  assignments suddenly disappear for one or more
  students in the workshop (!)

11
Questions and discussion

• What tenth strategy do others have to share?
• What questions or scenarios do you struggle with
  as a facilitator?