During module studies

1. Have a presence in the discussion boards

Be the first to visit any shared online learning space informally, leaving a short welcoming greeting and quickly departing. Model frank, informal and helpful interactions as a norm. This can be particularly useful on discussion boards. Short open-ended posts from the tutor are needed here, not heavily referenced academic jargon. Make effective use of gentle questions, perhaps in the third person to avoid it seeming like a tutor’s challenge: “Eilidh wonders how you could justify that opinion>” And certainly don’t establish a school-teacher persona by making corrections. If someone starts a sentence with a preposition on a discussion board does it really matter? Think about how over-correcting might alter your own engagement with a discussion. If someone gets something wrong in terms of content matter, gently correct them as a fellow student might do: “This doesn’t seem to be quite what Dewey was advocating in xxxx”

Example: Jean created a discussion board for each week of her course. She gave a clear indication at the start of each thread to guide the discussion. E.g. ‘Watch the video ]hyperlink] (3:40), watching the body language of the student. How is the student feeling? How might you advise the tutor?’ At the end of each week her PhD student themed the comments and Jean filmed a short conversation between her and her PhD student in response to these. As her confidence grew, she asked other members of staff to join her for these discussions. This was very highly rated by the students who found the summaries useful and inclusive.

2. Encourage peer discussion

The speed and frequency with which you engage with a discussion forum can impact student behaviour and their SoB. A quick comment can make the student feel valued and noticed – and belonging. But responding too quickly to the substance of a posting can foster tutor-dependency, while responding too slowly (or not at all) can of course leave students feeling neglected and lead to a decline in engagement, particularly if posting is not aligned to assessment. Consider the usefulness of speedy, short, facilitative comments: “Hey, that’s an interesting point.  What do others think about this?”

Example: Patrick responded to each student query within 24 hours, often minutes during work hours, feeling that was good for the student experience. A colleague recommended he delay to 72 hours. He did so, and noticed students starting to respond to each other’s questions, giving peer support. He still monitored the board, posting more quickly if incorrect information was given; but even here peers would often correct each other. He found instead his posts could be light feedback e.g. highlighting a good point made, or asking a follow-on question.

3. Be supportive, not judgemental

To be seen as policing or nagging can be alienating to students. Far from fostering a SoB, it can annoy them. So we should handle with care how we approach non-participating students. Students may have many reasons for not engaging with discussion. They may be genuinely not the least bit interested, seeing no benefit to them. Or they may mean to, but never quite find the time. Or they may need time to think about a response, and when they’ve done so, feel they’ve missed the boat. They may be timid, or may have technical problems. Or they may see no advantage in terms of learning or grade in so doing. Whatever the reason, being positive and supportive is important to enhance interaction, and hence SoB.

Example: Gerry used learning analytics to identify which students hadn’t engaged in any discussion board by week 3 of his module. He asked admin to email them a supportive email giving them a contact if they were having technical problems. Some then contributed without further prompting.

4. Nudge learners towards constructive interaction with peers

Noah Goldstein researched how to persuade hotel guests to reuse their towels. In these days of environmental awareness, would a card asking the room’s occupants to reuse their towels to save the environment encourage people to reuse their towels? He found these cards did indeed have a positive effect. Noah and his colleague Robert Cialdini wondered if publicising norms might increase reuse. Changing the wording to say that the majority of their fellow guests were reusing their towels proved 26% more effective than those who only saw the environmental message to reuse their towel. This taps into social norms appeal. They then changed the wording to indicate reuse behaviour for guests of the same room, and this time the increase was 33%.   

Example: Stephen looked at the number of students engaging in non-compulsory discussion boards. He sent out an email to say that 75% of students in that module had already engaged in the board, thanking them for their contributions. Whether due to social norm behaviour or because non-participating students felt they might be missing out, his engagement rate went up to 85% within one week.

5. Give extra value to discussions

Don’t put in a discussion without a clear idea of its purpose. Make it relevant and interesting, key to developing a Sense of Belonging. We’ve already suggested using personal stories at the start of the module. Maintaining the interest in discussion fora requires just as much thought. The students are now familiar with the mechanics and know what to expect tutor-wise. But the novelty has worn off. Your level of passion will be reflected by the students. If they see a drop in interest from you they’re likely to themselves drop their interest levels. Think about the Sense of Belonging you want to tap into. Is it just about the module or programme? Is there something bigger you can tap into?

Example: Rachel ran a module on forensics. She decided one week to ask the students to count the number of different types of knives in their kitchens. She has already told them about her work in forensics, and tells them this will be used in her research. Her students are inspired and happily feed back the information. They even share photographs, and discuss the implications of their findings to domestic safety and violence in the discussion forum. In their evaluation they highlight this activity as one that led not only to feeling part of that module but also of the wider research community.

6. Include some synchronous real-time group sessions

Depending on time zones and working patterns for distance learners, this can seem challenging and risks alienating those not able to join. Yet it is found to be a big contributor to SoB and student satisfaction with the course. Think about where these are best placed – will they be structured or a drop-in ‘open office’? Will they be within the module or programmatic? What is the focus?  How do they fit into the overall module strategy?  Who will host them – the tutor? The students themselves? Will they be recorded? How will the interactions complement the rest of the module? Whenever the session(s), ensure there is plenty of notice to allow maximum participation. Send out a reminder including information about what will be covered, how to join the session, and any preparation work the students should do. Make sure your reminder gives them sufficient time to do the preparation work. You could also include a question board, e.g. using Padlet[1], to encourage participation of both those able to attend and those not.

Examples: Jessica sets up a virtual classroom for her module. Her students are all working within the UK, so she runs the session every Thursday evening 7 – 8pm for the duration of the module. She let students know that she would be recording the session and that this will be posted up on the module the next day. Each Friday she posts a message outlining the following week’s aims, and inviting students to post any thoughts about work outcomes for the week’s live session. This gave students a good structure to their week’s work, and maximum benefit for both tutor and students from the live session. Students are expected to participate, and email Jessica if (and why) they are unable to attend, thereby emphasising the importance attached to the live session.

Julie’s module is much larger and more diverse. She shares the workload with two other tutors. They opt for weekly sessions, each run three times per week. One tutor is happy to run his session Saturday morning. The students are highly appreciative of this ability to touch base, and even those unable to attend feed back how listening to the recording makes them feel much more part of the group.

Greg’s module has both students studying on and off campus. He records his on-campus lectures, found to be of benefit to both sets of students. If a student asks a question from within the class he repeats it to ensure the question can be heard on the recording. He also sets up a twitter feed for all students to text questions. Following feedback from off-campus students, he ensures any mention of other sessions or resources, e.g. tutorials, are equivalenced for off-campus students and care taken that all resources are available online. He also posts a message to the off-campus students highlighting how he is responding to this feedback, and asking them to let him know about any further problems. The off-campus students feed back favourably, appreciating how he is ensuring they are a valued part of the group.

7. Set up a collaborative activity

Including collaborative activity arranges for students to be working interactively with their peers. Ensure the instructions are clear, and that the time given allows for different work-patterns, particularly if your students are part-time. Give clear expectations, perhaps by assigning marks for levels of collaboration. Making this part peer-assessed can also encourage participation. Think about how the groupings will be created – by you the tutor, or by the students? If you, will you randomly assign or assign due to particular characteristics? If by characteristics, are you looking for homogeneity or heterogeneity? You are more likely to have a homogenous group if you let the students self-select. Think also how you will handle non or low-participation.

Example: Morris sets up a group project, assigning five students per group to ensure each has a good geographical mix. The project is built around comparing and contrasting community centres in their own neighbourhood. Feedback from students highlights that the small groups have enjoyed both the project and the level of interaction between group members, giving them a strong SoB within their small group.

Example: Ian sets up a group project, assigning half a dozen students of mixed characteristics and performance to each group. He compares their activity and performance with self-selected groups in the previous year, and finds more dissonance and better learning outcomes from the mixed groups. He ponders on what seems to be a departure from arrangements promoting SoB.

8. Be present and responsive

Off-campus students contribute to an ever-diversifying student body. They tend to be older, with many already engaged in work. They will have multiple identities, and may not want or need to participate in a learning community. How do we respond to their needs? Beyond clear instruction they may just need to know that tutors are available if needed. Setting up clear communication channels early on is important, but so is recognising that student needs may change as they progress through a programme.

Example: Jane is supervising Richard in his dissertation. He is a focussed but busy professional. They work out early on a time-line for his project, and he thinks Skype will be the best way for them to discuss progress. Jane asks if he would like regular skype meetings they can put in the diary now or if he would prefer making contact if and when needed. He opts for the second. By using Outlook Calendar he can set up an appointment and Jane can accept or decline.