The Canvas Discussions area is one of the primary means of communication between the instructor and students in online courses. To facilitate learning in the online environment, it is crucial to engage students in asynchronous discussion. Discussions are often considered the online equivalent to classroom dialogue in face-to-face courses. In hybrid courses, the discussions area is essential for engaging students between classroom-based meetings. Through the use of the online discussions, students can enhance their critical thinking skills by applying, analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating information (as in Bloom's Taxonomy).

As an online instructor, you should:

Set expectations concerning student discussion board performance
pose stimulating and thought provoking questions that help students think critically
establish presence by interacting frequently with students in the discussion board
provide feedback to students on the quality of their discussion board participation

Set Expectations

It is important that you set expectations concerning student participation with Canvas Discussions. This is typically done through the use of rubrics that are shared with students along with other syllabi materials at the start of the course. Define expectations for quality, quantity, and frequency of student posts in your rubric expectations and also provide a reminder email/announcement to students as the course begins. This will preemptively address student questions concerning the amount and length of reply and also demonstrate to students that you place a high value on discussion board participation.

We encourage you to view and adapt the following resources for use in your course.

Online Discussion Guidelines

Canvas Discussions help page

Create Engaging Discussions

Students have indicated that discussion questioning strategies that vary from week to week help keep them more engaged with the course. Below you can learn best practices on how to effectively utilize the discussion board to create dynamic discussions that promote student learning and help build community.

Faculty Focus has also put together a great 5 part series on Online Discussions:

Part 1: Five Online Discussion Ideas to Apply Learning
Part 2: Four Online Discussion Ideas to Explore Concepts Through Divergent Thinking
Part 3: Seven Online Discussion Ideas to Explore Concepts through Convergent Thinking
Part 4: Five Online Discussion Ideas to Foster Metacognition
Part 5: Online Discussion Ideas - Multimedia and Resources

Establish Presence

Now that you have begun to think about creating engaging discussions, it's important to consider what is expected of you within the discussion board.

Your frequent presence within the discussion board is necessary to set the right tone for the class. Your postings should be frequent so that students know that you are there to foster their learning in the course. We recommend that you interact with students at least 3-4 days a week during weeks where there are discussion board requirements. Engage students in discussion frequently by:

asking them to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information,
summarizing the postings of several students and posing further discussion questions, and
providing students with additional resources pertaining to the discussion (e.g., websites, journal references, books, etc.).
providing formative feedback on their postings (see more below)

At the end of the week, it's useful to synthesize the discussion into a summary. This provides students with a quantifiable take away of what was covered during the week, and serves to bring the course together, as students may not necessarily have engaged in each and every discussion thread. Some instructors assign a student or group of students as discussion leader(s).

Provide Feedback

We recommend that you provide feedback both to students individually, on their discussions participation, as well as to the class as a whole. The individual feedback should highlight strengths of students work, as well as areas to improve. Provide this feedback initially within the first couple of weeks to allow students time to adjust their behaviors without developing bad habits. Follow up with feedback throughout the course (every few weeks, or whenever warranted). Class level feedback should be more general and supportive. Add this as a separate announcement/email or as part of a week's recap.