1. 1 Motivation and Engagement in Online discussion : improving the students’ experience. Laura Lannin & Elisabeth Skinner University of Gloucestershire

2. 2 Overview The challenge The case study investigated Student experiences 2006/07 and 2007/08 Implications for designers of online discussion

3. 3 The Challenge: To design online discussions that: “engage [learners’] attention so that they enjoy study; the knowledge and skills they need must link to their interests so they are motivated to study; they need constant personalized support and encouragement at the pace and level to keep them engaged” Laurillard in Beetham and Sharpe 2007:xvi

4. 4 The case study: Management at Work : Students of community, environmental and heritage management Compulsory module First term, first year Online discussion is 50% of assessment Monitoring student participation over two academic years

5. 5 Underpinning ideas The purpose To introduce online discussion tool to new students To demonstrate value of online discussion Based on A social constructivist approach Gilly Salmon’s five stage model Tools Subject-based online groups in WebCT Five tasks to discuss over seven weeks

6. 6 Timely participation 2006/07 Only 16% met all five deadlines 64% were over seven days late for the 4 th deadline 2006-07 (25 students) Deadline% on time 176 224 3 4 576

7. 7 The student experience 2006/07 Evidence Skills audits Analysis of fifth reflective task Interviews with seven students Findings Students struggled to find the motivation to engage. “I don’t like Management ;it’s boring. You start the course off with that and then it’s always going to be an uphill struggle”. Marcus

8. 8 Motivating the students 2007/08 Salmon(2000:27): explain the value of computer-mediated communication But Dalziel et al (2007:26): benefits of participation are intangible until experienced And Marcus: “If you take it the other way, you get students all excited and then just guide them into the stuff they think is boring!”

9. 9 Enticing tasks? Old activity Introduce previous experiences of management. Tell your group about an experience of either good or poor management. New activity Tell your group about something that excites or angers you connected with heritage management.

10. 10 Timely participation 2006-2008 2006-07 (25 Students) 2007-08 (20 Students) Deadline % on time 17685 22485 32480 42470 5 7660

11. 11 The student experience 2007/08 I have actually enjoyed taking part in some of the discussions this way. I learned lots from my friends. When people gained confidence in asking questions it worked well. It kind of makes it exciting as well!

12. 12 The student experience 2007/08 By having to go away and think about ideas and relating them to organisations this has helped me make links between management techniques on paper and in practice. It has allowed me to become more responsible rather than being spoon fed as it is not the best way to learn. I have also learnt about how communities can develop through the online discussions.

13. 13 Conclusions It is essential to understand individual student experiences Re-design is ongoing The aim is to design online discussions that are “so enticing, so intriguing, and so marvelous (sic) that [students] really do not want to miss out on it”. (Bender 2003:47)

14. 14 References Beetham H and Sharpe R (2007) Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age, London, Routledge Bender T (2003) Discussion-based Online Teaching to Enhance Student Learning, Virginia, Stylus Publishing Biggs, J. (2002) Teaching for quality learning at university, Buckingham, Open University Press Dalziel D, Hewitt E and Evans L (2007) Motivations and Barriers to Citizen Governance, London, Department of Communities and Local Government Entwistle N (2003) Occasional report 3: Concepts and conceptual frameworks underpinning the ETL Project, Edinburgh, ETL Project Salmon G (2000) E-moderating: the key to teaching and learning online, London, Kogan Page. Skinner E Flick my switch: using community development theory to improve student engagement in online discussion Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press