Discussion Board

UNL Faculty Discussion Strategy: Guest Expert

Learning Goals/Purpose:

• To enhance the typical discussion board and allow experts in the field to contribute to online conversations.
• To bring credible, new perspectives into the online classroom.
• To coordinate teaching and learning through interdisciplinary approaches.

Instructor Role:

• The instructor plays facilitator to both the expert and the students.
• For students, the instructor provides students reading materials (in this case selected by the visiting scholars, often their own works) that prepare them to engage in online dialogue and familiarize them with the guest expert.
• For the expert, the instructor ensures that the expert understands his/her goals for the activity and familiarizes the expert with how to log onto the course site, post announcements, etc.

Student Responsibilities:

• Students will read relevant introductory materials provided by the instructor and/or guest expert.
• Students will prepare questions to ask the guest expert or respond to questions posed by the visiting scholar about the readings and post these on the discussion board.
• Students will be involved on the discussion board with any follow up questions/discussion they have for the guest expert.

Process:

1. Instructor contacts guest expert well before course begins and outlines the goals for the discussion activity.
2. Instructor provides introductory materials to students (usually text and a photo of the expert) so they understand the guest expert's background. These materials include expectations for the discussion activities.
3. Instructor either familiarizes the guest expert with how to access the online course and read and post responses on the discussion board OR (for those uncomfortable with technology) plays a "shuttler" to collect and pass along information to and from students and expert.
4. Students then ask questions of the expert (for all to see) by a certain date or the students reply on the discussion board to questions on the readings posed by the visiting scholar.
5. The guest expert responds to all student questions or replies to the responses posted by students to his/her questions.
6. The guest expert can then log on for a period of 2-3 days, responding to various asynchronous discussions that may arise.

Other Comments:
This is an exceptional opportunity for instructors and students to have the benefits of a guest lecturer plus follow up interactions through the discussion board. Assuming such a role, it needs to be recognized, is quite a commitment on the part of the visiting scholar.

Another option is to have the guest expert become a guest "speaker" through a real-time chat. If this is done, it is even more important that you provide students with plenty of background information, have students prepare themselves (perhaps have questions ready) well in advance of the scheduled chat, and make sure both students and experts have practiced using and are comfortable with the chat feature. The instructor might choose to act as moderator during the chat. Also, it is recommended that you provide a transcript of the chat for students who cannot attend.

Discussion Strategy is from CURR 925E, Seminar in the Curriculum and Teaching of Social Sciences: Great Plains. Thanks to Professor Susan Wunder, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Teachers College.

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