Why do some students resist participating in course discussion boards when they know their grade will suffer? How can students with polished social skills come across in online courses as uncooperative and unengaged, with short postings of little substance? What causes this? Can it be fixed?

This is not a research article. I don't have all the answers, but I do have questions, conjecture and a few suggestions.

I've grouped my ideas of why students don't post into four categories: logistical, personal, educational, and instructor-related.

Logistical
Time constraints may limit a student's participation in discussion boards. Students may incorrectly assume that online courses are easy or that more time should be devoted to their other "real" courses. They may not be prepared for the work involved in the "care and feeding" of discussion postings.

The discussion board functions of course management systems may inhibit expressiveness and natural style. Compared to most other Web tools, they are primitive. They may be particularly troublesome for students with slow and unreliable Internet connections.

Personal
Students, particularly those taking their first online course, may fear having their thoughts critiqued publicly. They may feel that, compared to everyone else, they have nothing to say. Those with language barriers or cultural inhibitions may be uncomfortable with open discussions.

Classes have their own group dynamics. Sometimes a group is just plain cranky or critical. The class may be too small to generate good discussion. Or, resentment toward the material or the instructor may seed defiance or sullenness.

Sometimes courses are dominated by a few students who thrive on frequent lengthy postings (ironically, often by introverts reveling in their newfound discussion confidence.) The other students may simply disengage when their interest runs out.

Even motivated students may just lose interest, evidenced by sparse postings. A Web search easily finds discussion groups created for online instructors that are inactive and unattended. Interests move on and attention is drawn elsewhere, even among online instructors. "Discussion board fatigue" may set in during a long course or a long online program.

Educational
Students unfamiliar with online learning may have little experience with collaboration. In many classroom settings, papers are written and submitted, a grade is received, and the next assignment follows. Students are accustomed to sharing space and time, not ideas, whereas online learning is exactly the opposite.

Paper assignments often carry a minimum page or word requirement. Short is bad, long is good. Online, lengthy and "flabby" postings are a nuisance to all. Posting succinct, researched, and well-edited messages requires seldom-used writing skills for some students.

Online writing requires a different style than many students were taught. High school and college courses often require a dry, pedantic, and detached writing style that's out of place in online postings. A lack of ability to write for the Web (short sentences, subheadings, and chunking) can evidence itself by a long mass of text that is likely to be read by no one. On the other hand, writing styles developed mostly through casual e-mails and instant messaging can be overly casual and cryptic, a documented blurting of whatever was on the student's mind at the time.

Students accustomed to memorizing facts and taking hard tests in traditional classrooms may view discussion boards as mindless chatting that takes time away from "real" learning.

Instructor-related
The instructor must set an example of expected behavior. Lack of instructor involvement and behavior modeling in the course may cause students to feel that posting is unimportant despite clearly stated requirements. The instructor may send a subconscious message of discomfort in being on an equal footing with students in a discussion board, either dominating the postings or avoiding them entirely.

The instructor should serve as content editor. Student posts may be overly long or devoid of facts, in which case the class might be better served if the instructor deleted the message or asked the student to revise it. For whatever reason, instructors rarely critique student postings except as part of an overall collaboration grade.

Lack of clear requirements for substance and topic may cause students to believe that postings simply need to be lengthy and well stated. Little effort is required for a student to state what they "feel" or to list links to references they found via a search engine, yet these may be rewarded in some courses as evidence of active learning.

Excessive reliance may be placed on discussion postings as a major part of a course. It's easy, inexpensive, and one of few Web options available that mimics a classroom setting, but is it essential for every online course and subject?

Suggestions
Instructors should evaluate the educational value of required online discussion. Is it essential for your course or just easily evaluated busy work that mimics a learning community without adding value? Does extensive posting give the student a better outcome in your specific course? Are your posting requirements carefully designed and pedagogically sound or just an afterthought?

Assuming that discussion is essential, it should be well moderated by the instructor. Discussion boards die when instructors don't make time to engage in them. Messages are unmoderated and uncriticized. Sloppy and irrelevant posts annoy other students and consume bandwidth. Statements of fact are not required to be referenced. Each student just tosses out their required posting and moves on. Worst of all, grading rubric and content expectations can be vague. Perhaps the pervasive idea that collaboration is necessary has overwhelmed the fact that not all collaboration is created equal.

Students taking their first online course pose a particular problem. The idea that discussion is required may be foreign to them. Their experience in Web-style writing (or any other kind, for that matter) may be limited. Perhaps they really aren't good candidates for online learning at all. Maybe the instructor could simply ask if anyone is taking their first online course and provide one-on-one coaching for those who respond.

If students are motivated and capable, perhaps they just need more writing practice, using Web writing style. Web logs ("blogs") can enhance writing skills. Tools to create this online "diary" are free and easy to use. Blog tools offer more functionality than the discussion board tools provided as part of a course management system, with easy inclusion of photos and other graphics without HTML knowledge. Blogs can be used as part of an online course: for writing practice, student reflection, interaction, resource posting, and a shared class "bulletin board."

Summary
Despite instructor pleas for online collaboration, students may not participate. The astute instructor can recognize and (in some cases) mitigate the problems, allowing all students to participate successfully. However, it may also be helpful to re-examine the perceived contribution of collaboration for a particular course, making sure it is truly adding value and not just replacing classroom-based busy work with its electronic equivalent.

Return to timdotson.com
E-mail Tim Dotson