As an educator, I am always encouraging my students to have meaningful mathematical discourse. As hard as it has proven to be in the classroom, it will be more difficult via e-learning. This article provided some insight on what to do to better facilitate online discussions. Rhonda Bondie of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education suggests that teachers use three tools to better engage students through online discussions.  The first tool is a note catcher document. A specific Google Doc can be used for students to take notes collectively during discussions. I can monitor and help facilitate discussions in real-time. The second suggestions is for teachers to help students prepare for online discussions via pre-assignments. These are meant to help stimulate their thought process. Teachers can incorporate the use of Google Slides, Flip-grids, or Voice Threads to help engage students. Lastly, you want to get student feedback. It is best to incorporate it into the lesson through Note Catcher like discussed earlier or a questionnaire. I think these tools are a great start to deepen engagement. Teachers will have to make decisions based on the culture of their classes. I know my students wouldn't want everyone to see their responses. So, for the feedback, I'd definitely do a questionnaire or have them complete an exit ticket on the google whiteboard.
Click here to view the article. What ideas do you have? Do you think these three suggestions will foster better engagement in online learning? Let me know what you think in the comments! Subscribe here to get more content like this! Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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