As a higher education professional, I’ve had the special privilege of wearing multiple hats. I am currently an Instructional Designer, an Instructor, and an online graduate student. In previous roles, I’ve also been an Academic Advisor and a Counselor. In part due to the many roles I’ve had, I’ve worked significantly with online students and the faculty who create online learning. No matter if I’m working with students or with faculty, peer-to-peer interaction continues to be a concern among all in the online learning sphere. That is to say that when faculty translate their course from immersion (in person) to online, they ask, “How can I ensure the same peer-to-peer learning experiences I’d find in an in-person course?”
In the same way, I’ve had students beg and plead with me as an advisor to encourage professors to create peer interaction in their online courses. I even had a student report a complaint against a professor who wouldn’t use Slack in their course. This example, however, isn’t a show of poor teaching; this is, instead, evidence that students want to collaborate with other students, even if they are hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles away. The bottom line, students and faculty want the same thing: peer-to-peer interaction.
For in-person courses, peer-to-peer interaction often happens organically, partly because in-person courses are synchronous. But with online asynchronous courses, you need to create opportunities for peer interaction. Here are three different ways you might create peer-to-peer interaction in online courses:
"Post once, reply twice" is an outdated model, and is essentially asking students to write a paper, not collaborate. Instead, create a peer community forum in Canvas to allow for organic collaboration. Allow students to freely discuss and ask questions effectively building community. You may even consider leveraging technology like Yellowdig or Slack, both of which allow space for more organic collaboration.
Give students the opportunity to learn more about each other and then allow students to create their own groups in the course. One of my favorite ways I’ve seen this done is by having all students complete a nongraded survey and sharing the results with the class (this can be done in Canvas or Google Forms, for example). In the survey, ask students what their strengths are in a group, what times they work best (weekdays, weekends, early in the day, evening, etc), the time zone they are in, their interests in the class, and so on. Keep in mind, the objective for the survey is for students to learn more about their peers before choosing groups. Once students have completed the survey, post students’ responses to show who has the same interests as them, who is in the same time zone, prefers to work at the same time of day, and what strengths they may bring to the team. Once students have a chance to learn more about each other, ask students to form groups.
Student groups can be moderated or unmoderated in a course. You can simply have students form peer groups just for the sake of building a sense of community. In this case, you can encourage your students to check in with their peer group weekly, expressing the value of team collaboration, especially for career readiness.
Maybe you like the idea of peer groups in a class but you’re not sure what to do with them. Here’s one idea: incorporate peer review into your course! In a peer group of their choosing, have students practice refining communication skills and providing feedback to students through peer critique. To successfully do this, you’ll want to build a solid rubric for students to base their review from. Peer review is a great way for students to showcase their critical thinking skills.
Post-Author:
Christy Jersin Woods is an Instructional Designer Associate for the School of Life Sciences at ASU. She leverages technology and inclusive teaching pedagogy to assist faculty in curriculum and design of their courses. She has several years of experience teaching and in curriculum design in higher education and continues to stay up to date in literature and best practices.
Online Asynchronous Learning vs. In-Person Synchronous Learning
Thanks to the many roles I have had, I am also able to leverage my experience as an online student. Through the lens of an online student, the asynchronous classroom can be an isolating place. Sometimes the maximum interaction I’ll have with my peers in an online class is one introduction discussion post where (you’ve guessed it) we have to post and then reply twice. Discussion posts, at least with the post and reply twice method, are barely sufficient methods of peer interaction online. And while there are no significant differences between face-to-face and online learning in terms of student learning outcomes, you cannot simply take a course designed for face-to-face interactions and make it an online course. You have to do more if you want to afford your students the opportunity for peer-to-peer interaction.Design Interaction for Online Learning
Methods for Increasing Peer Interaction in Online Classes
- Let Go of the Online Discussion Board
"Post once, reply twice" is an outdated model, and is essentially asking students to write a paper, not collaborate. Instead, create a peer community forum in Canvas to allow for organic collaboration. Allow students to freely discuss and ask questions effectively building community. You may even consider leveraging technology like Yellowdig or Slack, both of which allow space for more organic collaboration.- Peer Groups
Give students the opportunity to learn more about each other and then allow students to create their own groups in the course. One of my favorite ways I’ve seen this done is by having all students complete a nongraded survey and sharing the results with the class (this can be done in Canvas or Google Forms, for example). In the survey, ask students what their strengths are in a group, what times they work best (weekdays, weekends, early in the day, evening, etc), the time zone they are in, their interests in the class, and so on. Keep in mind, the objective for the survey is for students to learn more about their peers before choosing groups. Once students have completed the survey, post students’ responses to show who has the same interests as them, who is in the same time zone, prefers to work at the same time of day, and what strengths they may bring to the team. Once students have a chance to learn more about each other, ask students to form groups.Student groups can be moderated or unmoderated in a course. You can simply have students form peer groups just for the sake of building a sense of community. In this case, you can encourage your students to check in with their peer group weekly, expressing the value of team collaboration, especially for career readiness.
- Peer Review
Maybe you like the idea of peer groups in a class but you’re not sure what to do with them. Here’s one idea: incorporate peer review into your course! In a peer group of their choosing, have students practice refining communication skills and providing feedback to students through peer critique. To successfully do this, you’ll want to build a solid rubric for students to base their review from. Peer review is a great way for students to showcase their critical thinking skills.Summary
Online students want to collaborate with their peers. Instead of forcing students to come up with their own ideas for how they will collaborate (think Discord), you can create a multitude of opportunities for students to interact with one another in the online classroom, ensuring equity regardless of modality. Unsure of how to incorporate peer interaction into your course? Email the Teaching Innovation Center at tic@asu.edu to meet with an Instructional Designer. We’d love to collaborate!Post-Author:
Comments
Post a Comment