Week 3 Overview

According to researchers and instructors exploring the Community of Inquiry framework, facilitation is the strategies, techniques and communication an instructor employs to support and guide online learners. Facilitation is considered as a separate group of skills that are employed to support learners in critical reflection and inquiry and to keep them engaged in learning. The facilitation strategies used to welcome and orient students at the beginning of a course were discussed during Week 1 (Building Online Community). This week we'll focus on strategies or actions an instructor could use to keep students engaged in learning, and address any concerns or misunderstandings. Some of the instructor actions, cited by Garrison and Vaughn include:

• encouraging discussion and reflection
• modelling appropriate participation and critical thinking
  
• monitoring and regulating learning of students
• supporting student self-regulation and monitoring
• encouraging peer-to-peer learning and connection

More specifically, an online instructor can:

• make yourself available for synchronous chats or discussions - with individuals and groups of students
• connect with students that you don't "see" in the online course (learning management systems have tools to track where and when students interact with course materials or other students)
• acknowledge student contributions in discussion forums
• ask open-ended questions to encourage broader or deeper discussion of key points
• encourage peer-to-peer explanations and learning but step in to clarify issues when necessary
• ensure that students are aware of your presence in the course
• assist students to synthesize or summarize discussions/debates