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Discussion Board Assessment of Effectiveness. Scotty Dunlap, EdD, CSP Eastern Kentucky University College of Justice and Safety. Our Program. MS in Safety, Security and Emergency Management Concentrations and certificates in: Occupational Safety Ergonomics Homeland Security
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Discussion BoardAssessment of Effectiveness Scotty Dunlap, EdD, CSP Eastern Kentucky University College of Justice and Safety
Our Program • MS in Safety, Security and Emergency Management • Concentrations and certificates in: • Occupational Safety • Ergonomics • Homeland Security • Emergency Management • Fire and Emergency Services
Class Format 8 weeks – 8 weeks 8 weeks – 8 weeks
Class Format 8 weeks – 8 weeks 8 weeks – 8 weeks 6 weeks – 6 weeks
Discussion Board • One Instructor of Record • Eight Facilitators • 156 registered students subdivided into eight groups ?
Discussion Board • Previous • Two scripted questions each week • Paralleled lecture or textbook reading • Required one substantial initial post and two responses to peers • Under study • One open-ended question • Based on related article • Required one substantial initial post and two responses to peers • Added critical thinking resource
Discussion Board • Effectiveness of Discussion Board use: • Measured by student survey • Measured by rating posts in the course under study with those from the previous time the course was taught
Findings • Journal Article Discussion vs. Scripted Questions • 62% agreed or strongly agreed that the journal articles helped them to have quality interaction with their fellow students (14.2% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 60.2% agreed or strongly agreed that they liked discussing the journal articles (11.5% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 32.7% agreed or strongly agreed that they would prefer to discuss material from the video lectures (33.6% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 25.1% agreed or strongly agreed that they would prefer to discuss material from the textbook (12.8% disagreed or strongly disagreed)
Findings • Critical Thinking Information • 52.2% agreed or strongly agreed that accessing the critical thinking information improved the quality of their communication (10.7% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 62.8% agreed or strongly agreed that they preferred open-ended dialogue rather than scripted questions (15.1% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 74.3% agreed or strongly agreed that open-ended dialogue helped them to better share their thoughts (6.2% disagreed or strongly disagreed)
Findings • Student Learning • 82.3% agreed or strongly agreed that they preferred focusing on one discussion thread rather than multiple discussion threads (6.4% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 62.8% agreed or strongly agreed that they could not learn as effectively if the discussion board were not a component of the course (18.6% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 69% agreed or strongly agreed that engaging in the discussion board increased their level of learning (10.7% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 64.6% agreed or strongly agreed that the shared experience of their classmates was a critical part of their learning (13.2% disagreed or strongly disagreed)
Findings • Student Motivation • 59.3% agreed or strongly agreed that the quality of interaction in the discussion board motivated them to post comments (16.8% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 70.8% agreed or strongly agreed that the work experience of their fellow students motivated them to post comments (13.3% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 69.7% agreed or strongly agreed that they were motivated to post due to the percentage of their grade that the activity represented (11.6% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 79.6% agreed or strongly agreed that requiring a certain number of posts was a good way to get students to engage in the discussion (8.9% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 49.5% agreed or strongly agreed that they participate in the discussion board because they have to (28.8% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 55.8% agreed or strongly agreed that they participate in the discussion board because they want to (16.8% disagreed or strongly disagreed)
Findings • Facilitator Engagement • 69.9% agreed or strongly agreed that the role of the Facilitator was critical in establishing quality interaction in the discussion board (13.2% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 73.2% agreed or strongly agreed that the discussion board should not be limited to students only with no Facilitator interaction (2.7% disagreed or strongly disagreed) • 69.9% agreed or strongly agreed that the discussion board should be a graded activity (9.8% disagreed or strongly disagreed)
Findings • Quality • 0-3 rating • Evaluated 13,511 posts • 2.03 - Current • 1.67 - Previous
Conclusions • Students preferred open-ended discussion • Scripted questions can limit discussion due to establishing a pre-determined path • Access to critical thinking information was helpful • Cannot assume graduate students have critical thinking skills (“Academically Adrift”) • Students preferred one discussion question • Multiple questions can divide focus in addition to other weekly activities that must be accomplished • Consider intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors • “Want to” and “have to” participate • Students appreciated Facilitator presence • Not a “student-only” forum