Promoting and evaluating professional learning among teachers through open online discussions

Abstract

Discussion is a neglected design element of open online courses that has the potential to promote and evaluate professional learning and knowledge building among participants. Professional learning requires application to practice to achieve its aim. Open online courses can reach professionals at scale, but to demonstrate effectiveness, it is important to show that learning can be applied to practice. Existing metrics (e.g. enrolments, tests, quizzes and completions rates) are limited in their capacity to evidence this. However, by designing discussion prompts to elicit professional learning, it is possible to scaffold the application and exchange of knowledge among peers, and thus more effectively track the impact of the course for supporting the practice of professionals. This paper analyses discussions in an open online course for teachers working in crisis and emergency settings and other challenging environments. An Online Discussion Value Framework is developed through a synthesis of existing online discussion frameworks and applied to the qualitative analysis of discussion prompts and participant contributions to discussions. Finally, the implications for guiding the design of discussions in large-scale, open, online courses, and for meaningful evaluation of such initiatives, are drawn out.