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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Gwyndaf RobertsORCiD, Gemma Mitchelson, Dr Sophie Hill, Dr Sonia BusseyORCiD, Dr David ThewlisORCiD, Dr Emma Black, Dr Bryan BurfordORCiD
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Background Students need to feel a sense of belonging or connectedness to thrive in the online study environment, and for distance learning programmes, it is the discussion forum that offers the opportunity to establish an asynchronous learning community.1,2 Our programme is predominantly delivered online but relatively few of our part-time postgraduate students participate in the discussion forums, and many that do tend to post stand-alone statements rather than interact with their peers. We wanted to explore approaches to improve both the number of interactions in the forums and the quality of the discussions, with the overall aim of developing students' engagement with the programme and each other.Method One of our modules was delivered in three strands, allowing us to use three different approaches to organise the discussion forums: allocating students to specific groups; requiring a contribution to a forum before unlocking the next section; and allowing students to assign themselves to a group. Canvas' analytics provide the number of interactions with each forum, and programme staff evaluated the quality of interaction using a simple rubric. A student experience survey was conducted after each strand.Results Early data show that simply allocating students to specific groups results in a small number of motivated individuals posting to the forums, with little interaction between the contributors. These students report a drop in motivation and frustration with their peers, leading to a feeling of isolation. We will present data on the effect of changing how students interact with online discussion forums.Keywords: discussion; community; learning; online; postgraduateReferences1. Peacock S, Cowan J. Promoting sense of belonging in online learning communities of inquiry at accredited courses. Online Learn. 2019;23(2):67–81. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i2.14882. LaBarbera R. The relationship between students' perceived sense of connectedness to the instructor and satisfaction in online courses, Q Rev Distance Educ 2013;14(4):209–220.
Author(s): Roberts G, Mitchelson G, Hill S, Bussey S, Thewlis D, Black E, Burford B
Publication type: Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)
Publication status: Published
Conference Name: ASM Annual Scholarship Meeting 2024: Maximising potential in health professions education
Year of Conference: 2024
Pages: 68-68
Print publication date: 01/10/2024
Online publication date: 12/11/2024
Acceptance date: 01/03/2024
ISSN: 1743-4971
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.13814
DOI: doi.org/10.1111/tct.13814
Series Title: The Clinical Teacher
