6 Best Practices
1. Give students clear expectations about online discussion requirements, deadlines, and grading procedures.
2. Assess the quality as well as the quantity of the students' online posts. Using rubrics will allow students to
have a clear guideline of your expectations for the quality of their posts. Sample Forum Rubric
3. Provide a schedule for students of upcoming discussion board deadlines. Give as much notice as possible.
4. Provide structure for students to post to threads. A good structure lessens the frustration of what to write.
5. Make yourself visible in the discussion. Students will be more likely to engage in the discussion if they see
you as being a part of it.
6. Do not allow domination of the discussion. If students are dominating the discussion, privately ask them to
slow down a little.
Source: Edutopia
Common Discussion Forum Pitfalls to Avoid
1. Asking too many questions at once.
2. Asking a question and answering it yourself.
3. Failing to probe or explore the implications of answers.
4. Asking unconnected questions.
5. Asking yes/no or leading questions.
6. Ignoring or failing to build on answers.
7. Not summarizing/ closing a discussion.
Source: Carnegie Mellon University.