Building Discussion Quality with “Virtual Gold Stars”

Cindy HindsAdjunct Psychology Instructor

Ozarks Technical Community College

I have a _____ with Standards requiring me to teach higher level critical thinking skills to students. ◦ A) Department/Division◦ B) College/University◦ C) Professional association ◦ D) More than one of the above

Polling Question

I have students who: ◦ A) already know how to think and write critically.◦ B) are somewhat prepared to engage in critical

thinking work.◦ C) are not prepared to engage in critical thinking

work, but show some promise.◦ D) are not prepared and show no foundation to

begin the process of critical thinking.◦ E) All of the above

Polling Question

OK…..now what?

Knowledge is constructed through interactions with adults or more advanced peers.

Learners do best when information is provided within their ‘zone of proximal development’ through a process called

Scaffolding

Lev Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Scaffolding Applied to Response Posts

Gradebook Column

Raising the Stakes

Early in the Semester weekly Response Posts can be worth up to 5 possible points.

Later in the Semester weekly Response Posts can be worth up to 10possible points.

I like to receive recognition for hard work.◦ A) True◦ B) False

The result of the recognition you receive for your hard work makes you:◦ A) work a little less◦ B) coast along◦ C) work a little more◦ D) work much harder

Polling Question

Recognition for a job (Response Post) well done

What student reactions have you had to the movement away from traditional forms of teaching and learning?

Polling Question: The Challenges

Do you think this methodology goes far enough in creating collaboration?◦ A) Yes◦ B) No

Polling Question: The Challenges

Summary of “Virtual Gold Star” Creates a better discussion board response

post. Keeps students “on task”

Requires students to critically think about the material

Creates a nascent community of learners

APA, Principles for Quality Undergraduate Education in Psychology. www.apa.org

Borthick, A.F., Jones, D.R., & Wakai, S. (2003). Designing Learning Experiences within Learners’ Zones of Proximal Development (ZPDs): Enabling Collaborative Learning On-Site and Online. Journal of Information Systems. 17 (1): 107-134.

Elbaum, B., McIntyre, C., & Smith, A (2002) Essential Elements. Atwood Publishing: Madison, WI

Reed, S. (2010). A Model for Scaffolding Writing Instruction: IMSCI. The Reading Teacher. 64 (1) 47-52.

Tsai, A. (2011). A Hybrid E-Learning Model Incorporating Some of the Principal Learning Theories. Social Behavior and Personality 39 (2) 145-152.

Van de Pol, J., Volman, M., & Beishuizen, J. (2010) Scaffolding in Teacher-Student Interaction: A Decade of Research. Educational Psychology Review. 22: 271-296.

References

hindsc@otc.edu

Cindy Hinds