1. Fostering Interactive Discussions
Brian Newberry 1

2. This Presentation Will:
Topic Introduction
For the Purposes of the Session, a Discussion Is a Course Activity Where Two or More People Exchange Ideas and/or Information
This Presentation Will:
Review Some of the Literature Related to the Topic
Review Some Reasons for Using Discussions
Present Suggestions for Increasing the Success of Discussions 2

3. Literature Review
Daft, R. L., & Lengel, R. H. (1984). Information richness: A new approach to managerial behavior and organizational design. Research in Organizational Behavior, 6,
Moore, M. G. (1989). Three types of interaction. The American Journal of Distance Education, 3(2), 1-6.
Short, J. Williams, E. & Christie, B. (1976) The social psychology of telecommunications. London: Wiley.
Tiene, D. (2000). Online discussions: A survey of advantages and disadvantages compared to face-to-face discussions. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 9(4),
Trevino, L., Lengel R., & Daft, R. (1987). Media symbolism, media richness, and media choice in organizations. Communications Research, 14(5),
Weiss, R. (2000). Humanizing the Online Classroom. New Directions for Teaching Learning; Winter 2000 Issue 84, p47-51. 3

4. Expert Commentary: Purposes for Discussions
Student to Student Interaction
Reduce Anxiety or Feelings of Social Isolation
Icebreaker/introduction
Reduce Instructor Workload
Divide Large Classes Into Separate Discussion Groups. Have a Designated Member of Each Group Write an Executive Summary
Student to Instructor Interaction
Increase Instructor Immediacy/Presence
Guidance and Motivation
Student to Content Interaction
Sharing of Perspective
Developing Shared Vocabulary
Collaboration
Peer Review
Chapter Summaries/discussion Questions
Literature Reviews
Debates
Case Studies 4

5. Expert Commentary: Promoting Discussion
Make Discussions a Graded Activity
Instructor Presence Is Important, Use Both Recognition and Shaping of Students Contributions
Model Appropriate Discussion Behavior
Communicate Expectations Clearly
Promote Early Engagement, Procrastination Is a Big Issue With Online Interaction
Show Students How to Project Themselves Into the Communication (Emoticons, Parenthetical Comments, Etc.) 5

6. Conclusion And Questions Interaction Instructor Presence
Modeling and Shaping
Choose Appropriate Technology 6

7. Fostering Interactive Discussions
Brian Newberry 7