You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks:
The Use of Asynchronous Threaded Discussions

Betty A. Cox
Becky J. Cox
The University of Tennessee at Martin

     Many universities are making online programs and classes available at both the graduate and undergraduate levels; nonetheless, there are varying degrees of acceptance of such courses among faculty. Berge (2006) found that many faculties have not been accepting of online courses due to their belief that online courses are not as worthwhile as traditional courses.
     A review of the pertinent literature demonstrates that numerous studies exist detailing the strengths and weaknesses of online courses.  One subject particularly at issue is the interaction between students and faculty.  Discussion is a pedagogical technique used commonly in online classes to eliminate the lack of face-to-face interaction. Muilenburg and Berge (2006) maintain that discussion is useful because several types of thinking can be promoted through that medium. In an editorial comment within the same document, Collins concludes that courses devoid of interaction become “electronic correspondence courses.” (p. 11).  In a 1997 research project, Berge surveyed 42 online instructors, and 41 of those surveyed indicated that discussion was used as a teaching technique in the online courses taught.
     This article is comprised of a literature review and transcript content analysis concerning the use of web-based delivery systems, specifically the discussion board component of Blackboard. The authors currently teach online graduate education courses at a four-year, public university. Students enrolled in the courses are working toward a Master’s degree in education. 
     Web-based learning is a relatively new endeavor to the university as well as to the authors; accordingly, the writers attempted to scrutinize their online practices and to examine the literature to gain information on the use of discussion forums in similar environments. The question to be answered in this study was whether students used discussion board as a learning tool within the course or if they merely completed the minimum requirements established by the instructor for credit. The issue was addressed through an analysis of discussion board transcripts; more particularly, the authors determined whether the length of student responses increased during the semester. The purpose of the article is to share the findings of the study and to identify issues for further analysis.
     Blackboard is the delivery system used for online learning at the authors’ university and discussion board is one component available within the program. “A discussion board is a general term for any online ‘bulletin board’ where you can leave and expect to see responses to messages you have left.” (whatis.techtarget.com, 2007).
     Relative to this context, discussion board is the main form of interaction between students since the courses for the M.S. program are completely online.
Literature Review
     Discussion board is an asynchronous environmental tool that provides an opportunity for each individual to post a statement as well as to respond to the postings of other students and, thus, to create a discussion (Markel, 2001).  There are mixed reviews on student attitudes towards using a discussion board. Hammond (2000) cited anecdotal evidence that students were mostly positive about a discussion forum. Some students were reluctant to participate as they were uncomfortable posting because of the inability to edit their statements after submission (Beaudoin, 2002). Additionally, Hara, Bonk, and Angellini (1998) found that students with limited writing skills were often at a disadvantage in participating in the discussion board. Interestingly, both Hara et al. (1998) as well as Mazzolini and Maddison (2003) stated that the majority of the discussion board research encountered was in courses based on graded participation.
     Postings are “threads” that connect to the main topic (Horton, 2000). Several topics can be discussed at one time while using a threaded discussion.  These responses provide an opportunity for a class discussion. Subtopics often appear during the postings and, as in face-to-face conversations, more individuals may join in by replying to the responses.  As noted by Markel (2001, p. 10), “The deepest learning is in the writing and ‘talking’ about the content of the course within the community of learners.”
     Relevant information has been generated concerning the length of postings submitted by students on a discussion board forum. Hara, Bonk, and Angelli (1998) found that students who were required to participate in a discussion board had a tendency to do only the minimum work necessary. Moreover, McIntyre and Tlusty (1995) surmised that the length of postings and number of postings is not an indicator of students’ ability to reflect upon their learning. Rather, a discussion board offers another opportunity to reflect upon learning experiences.
     In like manner, assorted data has been generated in a variety of settings. Wickstrom (2003) examined the use of a web-based discussion board in an undergraduate course containing 45 students. Discussion board requirements included students reading the prompt, reading postings submitted by peers and then responding with their own thoughts. It was determined that the average number of postings was 14, with a range from two through 62 postings per students. Five to eight sentences were written in each post. Three students had at least 30 postings which were also the lengthiest. Most students responded as directed and only met the requirements.
     Similar results were obtained by Carboni (1999) who examined the number of postings submitted to a discussion board when used as a professional development tool. She found that those who participated did so quite often, while others participated very little. Additionally, the discussion board was used most frequently for the first two months (114 postings in October and 118 postings in November), but postings fell to 57 in December. The author speculated that student use was lower due to the holiday season.
     McIntyre and Tlusty (1995) examined the use of electronic journals within a student teaching situation. Individual student messages ranged from 12 to 49. They found that both posting length (sentence and word count) and posting frequency decreased as the semester progressed. Students were asked in an exit interview why the length and frequency of postings had decreased. Answers cited by students included that creating postings added stress, there were more pressing demands and they felt less need to participate than they had at the beginning of the course. 
     Twenty-three graduate students participated in a discussion board forum in a study conducted by Friery, Notar, and Wilson (2004). Although the course required two entries, the students averaged 4.6 postings each over a 20-day period. The discussion board forum provided an opportunity for each student to share his/her beliefs about educational practices and teacher effectiveness. Interestingly, 76% of the responses addressed nine of the 23 original statements. Sixty-eight percent of student responses replied to those nine statements.
     Fahy, Crawford, and Ally (2001) examined the number of postings submitted by 13 students during a 15-week graduate degree program. Students were required to post at least twice per each of the seven modules to receive full credit. However, the average number of postings submitted was 26 or 195% of the required 14. 
     A secondary education instructor of multicultural education added an online discussion board to his face-to-face class. Ramirez (1999) stated that in a traditional classroom there are some students who contribute daily, while others seldom add to the discussion. He hoped that students would share their thoughts online whereas they were not participating in class discussion. Accordingly, he found that students who had been quiet in class were vocal on the discussion board. Similarly, a junior college history instructor used discussion board in a 16-week history course. Lyons (2004) found that timid students were more likely to participate in online discussions than traditional classes.
     In another study, the discussion board was used as a supplemental tool in a secondary education technology course. The students in the study were differentiated based on a number of situations including message quality, number of messages read, response time to messages and length of messages in words. Students who were seen as enthusiastic discussion board users utilized the discussion board more frequently (Kay, 2006).
     Hara, Bonk, and Angeli (1998) created and studied an electronic discussion in a graduate-level psychology course. The course and its discussion board component lasted 15 weeks during which time online discussions were student dominated. The length of student posts was analyzed.  One key finding of the study was that most students participated in the online discussion only enough to meet the course requirements. Week two participants wrote about 293 words per post while week four posts were shorter, week eight posts increased and week ten posts were even longer. The authors attributed the growth to student reflecting and discussing ideas.
Methodology
     In the current study, the courses analyzed consist of two sections of school law taught by one author during a ten-week summer session and one basic educational methods class taught by the second author during a five-week summer session. Law class A contained 13 students and class B contained 10 students. The methods class contained 12 students. Each course syllabus outlined expectations for discussion board participation including length and time frame for postings.
     More specifically, each course was divided into modules.  All modules included a discussion board component. The instructors served as facilitators through the initiation of a discussion by asking an open-ended, thought-provoking question that related to the instructional content of that module.  Students were directed to post a meaningful response to the prompt (a knowledgeable, reflective response of at least two paragraphs and 150 words) and to reply to at least one other student’s posting.  Points were given for the individual’s response to the prompt as well as for the reply. Criteria selected for assessment included knowledge of content, length and completeness of response, posting within an assigned time frame and grammar usage.
     After conducting the literature review, the authors decided that the most appropriate approach to this study was a limited use of content analysis of the discussion board transcripts.  Comparable analyses have been conducted by Fahy, Crawford and Ally (2001) and Murphy and Collins (1997).   Utilizing this research paradigm, the researchers obtained hard copies of the discussion board transcripts for the aforesaid three classes and then examined specific module discussions.   Because school law covered a ten-week session, the first and eleventh modules were analyzed whereas the first and fifth modules were analyzed in the basic educational methods course which lasted only five weeks.  The number of times a student posted and the number of words per each posting within a module were calculated. The frequency and average length of each student’s posting are contained in the data table below. 
Findings
     The three courses examined provided a variety of findings. Of the 13 students enrolled in school law A, three students (23%) increased the average number of words within their postings from the beginning to the end. School law B contained ten students, of which seven students (70%) increased the average number of words within their postings from the beginning to the end. Fifty percent or six of the 12 students enrolled in the educational methods class increased the average number of words within their postings from beginning to end. Sixteen students or 46% of the total number of students increased the average number of words written per posting. Additionally, of the 16 who did increase the length of their postings, 31% (5 of the 16) also exceeded the required number of postings.
     The average number of words written per posting per each class was also examined. The average number of words for school law A fell from 181 the first posting to 129 the second posting. The average number of words for school law B rose from 185 the first posting to 191 the second posting. The average number of words for the educational methods class fell from 146 to 140.
     It is understood that the results from this study may not be generalized beyond the immediate population due to the small number of participants. Also, the length in weeks of the classes compared was not uniform and may not be applicable to courses that occur over shorter or longer periods of time.  Another factor which could limit the findings of this study was the fact that both instructors were relatively new to online instruction.  Finally, it was assumed prior to this investigation that there was an appropriate infrastructure in place to facilitate the students’ needs.
Conclusion
     This study found that the average length of postings in number of words did not increase as the semester progressed for a majority (54%) of students. Therefore, the findings suggest that when participating in a discussion board, most students merely completed the required number of postings as per the course requirements instead of using the discussion board as an additional learning tool. It was also found that students who wrote more words per post had the most number of postings.
     This exploratory analysis brings to mind other questions concerning discussion board use which will require additional research. Although the authors did not have the opportunity to survey students, other studies that yielded similar results suggest a variety of reasons provided by participating students as to their participation in a discussion board or their lack thereof.  Nonetheless, surveying of students to yield qualitative data was neither a part of nor the intent of this study.
     The authors believe that the results verify what effective teachers know about educational techniques and students: there is no one size that fits all. Be it traditional face-to-face classrooms or an online venue, students are different; they have different preferred learning styles, different needs, and a diverse range of abilities. Discussion board in an online course provides students an opportunity to share their thoughts with others in the class. Some students may be more inclined to participate on a regular basis while others may be disposed to participate only when the topic is of particular interest to them. Demands on time may also preclude students doing more than the minimum. Whatever reasons students have for joining in a discussion board may very well be the same bases students have for providing verbal input in a traditional class.
     Therefore, notwithstanding the results of this study, the authors will continue to include a discussion board component in online classes. Discussion is a valuable tool in the teaching process and a discussion board offers students the opportunity to engage in such dialogue.

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Comparison of Length of First Posting to Length of Last Posting in Number of Words