Snapshot
Type of Interaction: Asynchronous
Type of Course: Online
Type of Activity: Low Stakes
Suggested Class Size: 10-15
LMS Used: TRACS
Description
Core physiology and pharmacology courses tend to pretty be cut and dry. Faculty report that the content in these courses does not lend itself to many opportunities for peer-to-peer learning. Hence, the go-to assessment technique for such courses continues to be quizzes and exams– but does it have to be that way?
We faced a similar concern with an Advanced Cardiopulmonary Physiology course. We struggled to find efficient ways to incorporate student-to-student interaction in a technical content-heavy course. We also wanted to include forums that would not just generate communication between students but also help them learn the technical content at hand.
The solution we came up with to solve this problem was a new discussion format called “Be the Expert” discussions.
In a student perceptions survey administered after the course, a student mentioned that Be the Expert discussions were the best part about this online course.
Description of Be the Expert Discussion Format
Be the Expert discussions are class-wide discussions in which one student, assigned as the “expert” for the purpose of this assignment, chooses to learn about a topic that interests him/her and presents that topic to the rest of the class.
The experts also acts as the point of contact for the chosen topic and answer any student-generated questions related to the topic. The experts either answer the question, if possible, or research the topic further if they do not know the answer.
The instructor of the course is expected to play a passive but observatory role during the discussion period. The instructor is expected to step in for instructional purposes only when absolutely necessary.
Grading
The following discussion rubric was used to grade the Be the Expert discussion.
Snapshot of instructions:
Grading Implications for the Faculty
Here are a few tips to help faculty have a pleasant experience moderating and grading these discussions.
- Consider providing a reminder to students a week before they are assigned to be the experts.
- Consider filtering posts by student name (if your LMS includes that capability) in order to make grading a little easier. This can be done by locating the discussion you need to grade, followed by clicking the name of the student whose posts you wish to review.
- Update your late policy for the “Be the Expert” discussion in your syllabus to inform students about the penalty for posting their initial responses late, causing further delays in follow-up responses.