Abstract
In the age of post-secondary courses being moved to an online format, the use of asynchronous online discussion (AOD) is at an all-time high. However, though universities are using this method of discussion, K-12 educators are only beginning to explore it. This chapter examines the advantages of 7-12 teachers using AOD in science classrooms, how it aligns with national science standards, the theoretical framework, and explores one manuscript found about a high school science teacher using AOD. The subject of pendulum motion is selected, and each component of the 5E model is described, and potential AOD questions are written for the 5E model pertaining to pendulum motion. Tips and best practices are then discussed for writing AOD questions for science, and further implications described of using this model in 7-12, including a pilot program, creating a prototype model for 7-12, and curbing potentially emotionally charged argumentation devoid of credible evidence.
TopIntroduction
According to Henning (2008), discussion in the classroom is a form of classroom discourse, which refers to “any and all verbal interchanges among teachers and students in a classroom” (p. 1). Taking this to an online format in science classes seems at first challenging because McWilliam, Poronnik, and Taylor (2008) noted that while science instructors are encouraged to involve their students in active learning that diverges from the traditional lecture format, Nandi, Hamilton, Chang, and Balbo (2012) confirm that educators are also often urged to transition courses to an online format for many non-pedagogical reasons, like limited classroom space.
Hew, Cheung and Ng (2010) examined 50 emprirical studies that focused on student participation in asynchronous online studies. Students often choose to be inactive participants in asynchronous online discussions. Hew et al., discovered seven factors that could lead to limited student contributions and frequently students needed incentives to contribute to the discussion as well as the expressed need for discussions to be tied to the curriculum. Science teachers can learn that increasing asynchronous online discussions requires other awareness that many students do not know how to contribute to the discussion and they lack the ability to contribute more than an opinion or statement. Further, students who understand the relationship of online learning to the curriculum can become more frequent contributors to asynchronous online discussions (Cheung & Hew, 2005).
Though instructors might feel reluctant to facilitate online discussion (Smith, 2019), there are many benefits to asynchronous online discussion [AOD] including: students are afforded time to reflect, research, contemplate, and carefully word their thoughts before contributing, and students can return to ideas and concepts and continue to modify their thinking throughout the course. Many faculty who have taught online courses have noted that the online environmental learning facilitates more substantive discussion than is likely or possible in the face-to-face classroom (Baglione & Nastanski, 2007).
Teachers also struggle to show that learning is actually occurring during AOD and it is critical to learn how to assess learning in these discussions. Research by Chen and Wang, (2009) focused on the social talk that occurs in online learning and through their analysis they were able to report that social talk is critical to learning during online discussions. Chen and Wang expanded the work of Ling (2007) on how social interactions are important to the process of learning in Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL).
Widely used in undergraduate and graduate university courses, AOD is becoming more prevalent in K-12 education. This article will discuss using AOD in traditional face-to-face middle and high school science classes as a supplement to the classroom experience of the students. The purpose of this article is to serve as an early template and towards developing a “pre-model” for practicing teachers who may begin implementing AOD into their science classrooms. Three questions guide this writing:
- 1.
Why should [middle and high school] teachers use AOD as a supplement to traditional classroom instruction?
- 2.
What theoretical justifications do teachers have using AOD with curriculum standards such as NGSS?
- 3.
What are some guidelines for practicing teachers to use AOD as supplemental instruction?
Key Terms in this Chapter
PhET: A collection of research-based interactive computer simulations to teach and learn subjects such as physical science, math, and life science.
Online Discussion: This is a tool used to have discussions between people or groups of people that occur on computers or other electronic devices that foster communication, knowledge construction, and collaboration.
NGSS: The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards. Standards set the expectations for what students should know and be able to do at each grade level.
Classroom Discussion: A sustained exchange between and among teachers and students to develop students' capabilities, skills and understanding individually and shared, about a specific concept or instructional goal.
Public School Classroom: A classroom in the United States both federally and state funded that adheres to the requirements of both governments including curriculum and standards.
AOD: Asynchronous online discussion. An online discussion where participants can access and contribute to at variable times at their discretion or convenience.
5E Model: The 5Es are an instructional model encompassing the phases Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate, steps which educators have traditionally taught students to move through in phases.