Faculty Focus has a great report available for download titled, “Student Collaboration in the Online Classroom.” There are a lot of good resources on creating a collaborative classroom environment. Dr. Teshia Young Roby wrote an article highlighting “17 Tips for Successfully Including Peer Collaboration in an Online Course.” The article is based on data collected in a survey conducted within the University System of Georgia exploring examples of peer collaboration exercises in online classes.
- Get rid of preconceptions.
- Adapt and adopt existing collaborative exercises.
- Begin with a manageable amount of collaboration.
- Consider a course orientation.
- Make the collaboration a stated course outcome.
- Teach students how to collaborate.
- Provide structure for and require deliverables from the students.
- Organize the student groups early and stabilize the groups throughout the course.
- Create groups of 3 to 5 students.
- Instruct groups to report large problems.
- Provide feedback often.
- Carefully choose discussion topics.
- Prepare in advance for chat room discussions.
- Organize the discussion board for productive discourse.
- Constantly facilitate and monitor online collaboration.
- Promote peer collaborations through grading.
- Receive student feedback on collaboration exercises.
Tips for Encouraging Student Participation in Classroom Discussions
