How to handle non-participation

There are many aspects of asynchronous online communication that are different from face-to-face or telephonic communication. Perhaps the one that concerns online teachers the most is the question of what to do about people who don’t participate at all, or only contribute the bare minimum.

There are many reasons why some learners do not participate a lot: they may be struggling with the technology; they may be feeling anxious about their ability to communicate effectively in writing or worrying that other learners will think badly of them if they make a mistake; they may be feeling overwhelmed by information overload; or they may simply have nothing to say on the topics that are currently under discussion.

It is essential to get learners contributing to asynchronous discussions as early as possible, as this is the most reliable way of ensuring that learners have a sense of ‘belonging’, which in turn, is likely to motivate learners to persist in their learning. We have discussed many measures you can put in place right from the start of the course to help learners feel at ease in the online community. In addition to this, there are a few other steps you can take, which are discussed below.

One very effective way of bringing everyone on board is to give learners joint tasks. As in the Business Studies example, a task in which learners have to jointly agree on a definition or develop their ideas on a topic can be extraordinarily empowering to learners as a stepping stone towards developing their own ideas and writing individual assignments.

'Group work is not optional'

It is important to make learners understand that the group work is not optional, and one way to do this is to allocate marks for their contributions to the group process, as well as for their actual assignment. You can give a certain number of marks simply for participating (e.g. one mark per posting up to a maximum of three marks), and then allocate additional marks for evidence of critical responses to other members’ contributions, references to any of the prescribed readings, and so on. In this way you can ensure that everyone takes the group work seriously, and reduce the likelihood of some learners participating as ‘passengers’, letting others do all the work.

While the idea of rewarding learners with marks for their participation may work in some instances, there will be many cases where you want learners to communicate spontaneously without any thought of reward. In these instances, you may well find that some learners play a somewhat passive role. You will probably be able to see from the learning management system logs that these learners are logging in and visiting many, if not all, of the discussions, but that they are not posting comments. Some people refer to these individuals rather negatively as ‘lurkers’; others use the more positive term ‘browsers’.

What to do about the 'lurkers'/ 'browsers'

Many learners have reported that they have learnt enormous amounts simply from following the conversations among their peers, so do not be too quick to criticise, or worry about, the ‘browsers’. It is a good idea to monitor their progress, however, and to contact people individually if they disappear completely or do not fulfil the basic requirements of the course. 

How much should the tutor get involved in discussions?

Another issue that many e-moderators struggle with is the extent to which they should get involved in learners’ discussions on discussion forums. This depends very much on your individual communication style. Some tutors simply set up the online discussions by formulating the questions or tasks, and then step back completely, leaving learners to get on with it. Other tutors play a much more active role in the discussions, contributing as a member of the group, praising learners for their contributions, asking challenging questions in response to postings, and adding their own thoughts in an ongoing way.

Learners are surprisingly adaptable, and will usually fall in with the tutor’s style quite quickly, as long as you are consistent in your approach and learners know what to expect of you. Whether you choose to be a very active participant or not, the main thing to remember is that the aim is for learners to build their knowledge, and you should avoid making comments that come across as being ‘preachy’. You also need to be sensitive in the way you provide feedback to learners in front of their peers – learners should never feel personally criticised, even though you may be challenging their views.

Things to be aware of

Learners will very quickly pick up if you are disinterested, or if you are not visiting the discussion forums at all. For example, if a learner posts a question to you in the discussion forum and you do not reply, or if learners express a great deal of confusion about what they are expected to discuss and you do not step in to clarify the task, it will appear as if you do not care, and this can have a devastating effect on learners’ motivation. You need to have not only social presence, but also a teaching presence, and a cognitive presence. For more on this, read 'Enriching online learning experience: the three presences'.

You also need to be aware of where your learners are at in terms of the five-stage model mentioned in Unit 3, so that you can build up the activities, or 'e-tivities', to scaffold learners through the five stages.Tasks given in the first two stages should not be overly demanding (and should not be allocated marks for participation) for example, as learners are still getting the hang of the system, and getting to know one another in these stages.

Finally, it is worth being aware that conflict can arise surprisingly easily in online discussion forums, and also in e-mail communication. Misunderstandings can quickly escalate when people are communicating only in writing, especially in cross-cultural settings. It is important to be vigilant and to step in when you notice early signs of conflict. The best way to handle conflict is usually by communicating with people individually, either by telephone or by e-mail.

Reflection

1. The main challenges in an online learning context are similar to those in face-to- face mediation – how to get maximum participation, and discerning when and how to intervene to support group discussions.Can you think of ways in which you do these things in a face-to-face environment, and how this might translate into an online environment?

2. In view of the above advice on facilitating asynchronous discussions, how would you rate your skills as an e-moderator? Are there any areas in which you think you could improve your skills?

References/ Additional resources

For more detailed advice on how to be an effective e-moderator: Salmon, G., 2004. E-moderating: the key to teaching and learning online - 2nd ed. Routledge.

You can also get some tips for e-moderators at the book's website: http://www.atimod.com/e-moderating/resources.shtml