Active Learning and the use of discussion forums as summative assessment for onl
Active Learning and the use of discussion forums as summative assessment for online teaching
Dr Marta Vianya-Estopa
What is the idea?
The COVID-19 pandemic forced academics involved in clinical courses to quickly re-evaluate the content of face-to-face sessions. Due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, materials that can be learnt independently by learners should be explored outside of face-to-face sessions. This shift in learning has resulted in many benefits that would continue to be used for online teaching. I will explore how properly designed online discussion forums can offer advantages and can be used to contribute to summative components of clinical modules. For example, students self-learning and researching specific questions can help others in the same class. I will also highlight what needs to be considered when setting up and managing discussion forums online.
Why this idea?
This idea focuses on the use of online discussion forums to increase active learning in an optics base module. Clinical skills can be embedded in a variety of ways, depending on whether learning can occur independently by students or in collaboration with others. Bloxham and Boyd (2007) suggested that assessment activity in higher education is the main learning activity. In other words, students engage with materials when faced with assessment tasks. Those involved in the design, delivery and assessment of clinical courses might need to consider the value that non-traditional assessment tasks such as remote online discussion forums offer to their courses. Asynchronous online discussion forums promote reflection of learning and connect students (Benbunan-Fich & Hiltz, 1999) making them ideal to scaffold learning of clinical skills. In addition, they can also offer the following benefits:
- Promotes the development of written communication skills.
- Gives choice as part of the summative assignment. This in turn might improve students’ learning and promote fair assessment of a diverse student population (Bloxham & Boyd, 2007)
- Allows the use of visual resources (videos, websites) for topics that students may find particularly uninteresting.
- Establishes a sense of community.
- Offers a variety of assessments to modules within a course.
- Helps monitor continuous engagement with the module (as contributions are time-limited).
- Helps address any misconceptions in a timely manner rather than at the end of a module (as opposed to students submitting a traditional assignment with no opportunity for formative feedback).
Despite these benefits, some may find online discussion forums difficult to run but recent research shows strategies to help mitigate these difficulties (Lima et al, 2019).
How could others implement this idea?
This idea could be used in a range of contexts (not just clinical courses) as it allows flexibility and variety depending on the module requirements. For example, it can help assess students’ prior knowledge before covering a topic in cla