How to Create Effective Discussion Questions for Online Courses

by Angela Britcher
May 16, 2024
How to Create Effective Discussion Questions for Online Courses

Sheila Fry on her soapbox

One of the biggest challenges of teaching online courses is engaging students in meaningful and interactive discussions. Online discussions can foster a sense of community, enhance learning outcomes, and promote critical thinking skills among students. However, not all discussion questions are created equal. Some questions may elicit only superficial or factual responses, while others may spark lively debates and reflections. So, how can you create effective discussion questions for your online courses? At The Babb Group, we tend to get on a soapbox about writing and facilitating good discussions. Our COO, Sheila Fry, gave a webinar to members of the USDLA on the topic, and the chat was robust with questions and idea-sharing. Here are some tips and examples we talked about in the webinar to help you design and facilitate online discussions that will enrich your students’ learning experience.

Watch the webinar here:

Designing Discussion Questions

Before you start designing discussion questions for your online courses, think about these aspects:

The purpose of the discussion: What do you want your students to learn or achieve from the discussion? How does the discussion align with the course objectives and outcomes?

The level of the discussion: What level of cognitive complexity do you expect from your students’ responses? How can you use Bloom’s taxonomy or other frameworks to craft questions that require higher-order thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, evaluation, or creation?

The type of the discussion: What kind of interaction do you want to foster among your students? How can you use different types of questions, such as open-ended, closed-ended, divergent, convergent, hypothetical, or scenario-based, to stimulate different kinds of discussions?

The timing of the discussion: When do you want your students to participate in the discussion? How long will the discussion last? How will you structure the discussion, such as providing an introduction, a conclusion, or a summary?

The feedback of the discussion: How will you monitor and assess your students’ participation and performance in the discussion? How will you provide feedback and guidance to your students during and after the discussion?

Facilitating Discussion Questions

After designing your discussion questions, you should also consider how to facilitate them effectively in your online courses. Here are some suggestions to help you manage and enhance your online discussions:

Provide clear instructions and expectations: Before starting the discussion, ensure your students understand the purpose, the process, and the criteria of the discussion.

Provide clear and specific instructions on accessing, posting, and responding to the discussion forum. Explain what kind of responses you expect from your students, such as the length, the quality, the tone, and the frequency. Establish and enforce some ground rules and etiquette for online communication, such as being respectful, constructive, and relevant.

Model and scaffold the discussion: As the instructor, you play an essential role in modeling and scaffolding the discussion for your students. You can start by posting an introductory message that welcomes your students, introduces the topic, and poses the first question. You can also provide examples or resources to help your students prepare for the discussion.

During the discussion, you can facilitate the discussion by:
- Asking follow-up or probing questions that encourage your students to elaborate, clarify, or justify their responses.
- Providing feedback or comments that acknowledge, praise, or challenge your students’ contributions.
- Summarizing or synthesizing the main points or themes of the discussion at regular intervals or the end of the discussion.
- Connecting the discussion to the course content, the learning objectives, or the real-world applications.
- Introducing new perspectives, questions, or issues that extend or deepen the discussion.
Promote student-to-student interaction:

One of the benefits of online discussions is that they can promote student-to-student interaction and collaboration. As the instructor, you can support and enhance this interaction by:
- Encourage students to respond to each other’s posts, not yours.
- Ask students to build on, agree with, disagree with, or compare and contrast each other’s responses.
- Assign roles or tasks to your students, such as facilitator, summarizer, critic, or supporter, to create more dynamic and diverse discussions.
- Use small groups or breakout rooms to create more intimate and focused discussions.
- Incorporate multimedia or multimodal elements, such as images, videos, podcasts, or presentations, to enrich and vary the discussions.
Hear more from Sheila on crafting discussion questions that make students want to discuss.

Evaluate and improve the discussion

After the discussion, evaluate and improve the discussion based on your observations and feedback from your students. You can use different methods to assess and grade your student’s participation and performance in the discussion, such as rubrics, checklists, peer reviews, or self-reviews. You can also use surveys, polls, or reflections to collect your students’ feedback and suggestions on the discussion. Based on the results, you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of the discussion and make adjustments or improvements for future discussions.

Examples of Discussion Questions

To illustrate some of the tips and suggestions above, here are some examples of discussion questions for online courses in different disciplines and levels. Note that these are not exhaustive or definitive examples but are intended to inspire and guide you in creating your discussion questions.

Psychology (introductory level): How do you define happiness? What are some factors that influence your happiness? How do different cultures measure and perceive happiness? Share an example of a time when you felt happy and explain why.

History (intermediate level): Compare and contrast the causes and effects of the American and French revolutions. How did they influence each other and the world history? What are some similarities and differences between the leaders, the ideologies, and the outcomes of the two revolutions?

Biology (advanced level): What are some ethical issues or dilemmas related to genetic engineering? How do you feel about modifying the genes of living organisms for various purposes, such as health, agriculture, or environment? What are some potential benefits and risks of genetic engineering? How would you regulate or control the use of genetic engineering?

Online discussions can be a powerful and engaging way to enhance your students’ learning experience in online courses. However, creating and facilitating effective discussion questions requires careful planning, implementation, and evaluation. Follow these tips and examples to design and facilitate online discussions that foster a sense of community, enhance learning outcomes, and promote critical thinking skills among your students.

Want more help with discussions? The Babb Group’s team of instructional designers are ready to help!
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Angela Britcher

Angela Britcher, M.A., is a dynamic content marketing professional and storyteller who transforms complex ideas into easily digestible bites for audiences. She teaches communications, media studies, and writing, and she is a skilled instructional designer, creating engaging online learning experiences for colleges and corporate training. Angela produces and hosts The Babb Group's DigitalEDU Dialogues podcast.
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