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Role of Discussion Facilitator: Encourage and guide the discussion Be clear about the purpose and expected outcomes of the discussion Encourage participants to respond to each other as well as to the facilitator Recognize participants via private and public messages Share information and resources and encourage others to do the same Create a welcoming environment Tie together the threads of the discussion and summarize it Enforce the discussion group ground rules, if necessary Keep the discussion focused on the topic Clarify the questions and comments of participants, if necessary Act as an unbiased, neutral commentator Participate regularly, actively and thoughtfully Ask leading questions; resist being too chatty Decide when to resolve conflict/hostile interaction

But the biggest message is that our education system is not necessarily offering children what their developing brains need. We know for certain what good teachers have often said: learning is more profound when it is active rather than passive, and that is that it is vital for education to be tailored to individual pupils' needs.

The other key message, he says, is that motivation and a positive attitude are crucial for learning - it is now possible to measure how fear and discomfort can impair a child's ability to learn. It is also possible to see the different neural circuits the brain uses for "extrinsic" learning - which is motivated by a concrete goal such as a good mark - and "intrinsic" learning, which brings its own reward.

One of our problems in education is that we constantly have to balance our images of traditional success with the possibilities in our evolving knowledge of scientific development," he said.

Principle 1: Good Practice Encourages Student-Faculty Contact

Principle 2: Good Practice Encourages Cooperation Among Students

The "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education," originally published in the AAHE Bulletin (Chickering & Gamson, 1987), are a popular framework for evaluating teaching in traditional, face-to-face courses. The principles are based on 50 years of higher education research (Chickering & Reisser, 1993). A faculty inventory (Johnson Foundation, "Faculty," 1989) and an institutional inventory (Johnson Foundation, "Institutional," 1989) based on these principles have helped faculty members and higher-education institutions examine and improve their teaching practices.

Students are empowered to learn on their own and even to teach one another. Particularly in the discussion group mode, students have the opportunity to explain, share, comment upon, critique, and develop course materials among themselves in a manner rarely seen in the F2F classroom.

ar more writing-intensive than traditional classes

When an instructor posts a question on the asynchronous discussion board, every student in the class is expected to respond, respond intelligently, and respond several times.

Principle 5: Good Practice Emphasizes Time on Task Lesson for online instruction: Online courses need deadlines. One course we evaluated allowed students to work at their own pace throughout the semester, without intermediate deadlines. The rationale was that many students needed flexibility because of full-time jobs. However, regularly-distributed deadlines encourage students to spend time on tasks and help students with busy schedules avoid procrastination. They also provide a context for regular contact with the instructor and peers.

Designing your course to promote quality interaction between faculty and students and among students is essential.  Consider emphasizing the course conference by making it a part of your class assessment possibly as a substitute for test, paper, or project.

Be patient and available.  Remember some of us are first time online learners and are still trying to figure out this method of teaching and learning.

Be accessible