Designing a Small Discussion Board Assignment Fit for an Age of Online Discussion

Abstract

Despite a reasonably long history in university teaching, the discussion board is relatively underreported on in Political Science courses. As instructors contemplate which online tools should be carried forward after the pandemic, the discussion board bears closer scrutiny. Commenting is a skill that improves through practice and discussion boards help students develop transferrable skills to settings beyond school, especially online settings. Discussion boards have a track record of being long assignments that, as a result, risk instructor and student fatigue. This article, in response, presents a scaled-back discussion board exercise of five weeks. In this assignment, students take on set posting and commenting responsibilities. Interestingly, students reported that they learned less when placed in structured roles and when writing on less known topics, when, in fact, their grades were stronger in each case. Questionnaire and focus group data are clear: some structure is essential on discussion boards but not too much. Another key element of the discussion board template is that students practice different methodologies. Here that includes an interview, textual analysis, a simulation, and a policy recommendation. Designed this way, discussion boards develop the ability of students to participate in mature conversations, digesting critiques and responding appropriately to peers.