Modeling is the key to success with threaded discussion groups. The teacher, through participation in the TDG, provides models for the following:
- Netiquette
Netiquette is a code of etiquette for the online community that details respect for others. Good netiquette implies ethical and responsible behavior in an online environment, even when that environment can easily be viewed as anonymous. It is the responsibility of all teachers who use computers in the classroom, not just technology teachers, to teach and model good netiquette. (Read more about netiquette.)
- Use of fonts, emoticons, and text manipulation features
Students love to experiment with fonts, colors, emoticons, backgrounds, and so on, but this should be avoided if message readability is impaired. Similarly, though “breaking the rules” (for example, the frequent omission of uppercase letters in online posts) adds to the novelty of any online project, it is important for the teacher to define the limits of what is acceptable. I emphasize the quality of the message and its readability over the need for absolutely correct usage. However, for more traditional school activities, spelling and capitalization are more important.
- Literary content and academic language
Most of my students use the Internet for gaming, chat, and e-mail. Without instruction, students can very easily mistake an academic threaded discussion group for a chat room. A comparative example: Students write informal notes to one another on lined paper, but they also use lined paper for essays and research papers written with formal academic language and reflecting course content for class. Students should be taught that the computer can be used for friendly chats but also for more formal purposes. Models, printed on paper or displayed with a projector, can be provided to show what good quality posts to literature circle TDGs look like.
- Appropriate responses to other students
Without appropriate modeling and an online presence from the teacher, students can quickly resort to calling names or labeling the responses of others. Teaching students how to add to or challenge the ideas of another is closely related to the idea of netiquette, mentioned above.
- Appropriate responses to literature
Just because a student knows that something must be said about a piece of literature, does not mean the student knows what to say. Waggoner, Chinn, Yi, and Anderson (1995) developed a collaborative reasoning framework to help students identify how to take a stance and elaborate on it during discussion about literature. This technique, among others, models for students how to challenge the text, ask for clarification, prompt others to respond, and so on.
- More sophisticated responses to literature for those ready to move on
My first use of threaded discussion came about because a cluster of gifted students in a language arts class needed to explore concepts in Jack London’s Call of the Wild beyond what most students were prepared to handle. Because threaded discussions can occur in extended time away from the classroom, these students were able to explore the novel in depth with guidance from me that couldn’t have been sustained during regular class time. Threaded discussion allows me to differentiate instruction so that those who need enrichment can get it without leaving others behind.
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