When to jump in: The role of the instructor in online discussion forums
Margeret Mazzaloni and Sarah Maddison
Science Direct Computers and Education 49 (2007) 193-213



What is the role an instructor plays in asynchronous online discussion forums and flexible delivery modes of teaching? When should the instructor join the forum? What is the purpose of various kinds of comments the instructor can pose? How do students receive the instructor? What is the intention of the instructor? What is the comparison to face to face learning in a classroom?

My thoughts and interpretations of what Mazzaloni and Madison say in this paper.

How do you create an active, participating and learning community through online means. How does one establish communication in an asynchronous discussion? How can one draw out the quieter students? Onlines exchanges are bereft of body language and verbal cues. How can you gauge the personality of the students?

Another challenge for online teachers is
· When to enter a discussion?
· How much to say?
· What should be expressed and what shouldn’t?

In a planned asynchronous exchange a time period, e.g. of two week is pre-set. This date and other (what other????) housekeeping rules are announced.
· How much to say?
o A teacher must contribute visibly- that is important. This encourages students. (Salmon, 2000)
o A teacher needs to balance how much she writes in the discussion. It can be overdone and underdone.

· When to enter a discussion?
o When misconceptions are being discussed. Correct these.
o When discussion is dying out. Rejuvenate it or redirect it with a question.
o At the end to wrap things up.

· What should be expressed?
o Thoughtful comments which will stimulate further discussions and motivate students into further enquiry (Paloff and Pratt, 1999).
o Answers to questions asked.
o Wrap up a discussion at the end- answer remaining unanswered questions, “finish off or tidy up any extended discussions.”
o Correct any misconceptions that are appearing in the discussion.
o Ask another question- to redirect the discussion, to increase the depth of enquiry, to stimulate interest, to check how much students know
o Redirect the discussion
o Clarify understandings of key concepts
o (Role is one of guide on the side)


Students rate teachers who participate more highly than those who don’t and those who just do housekeeping on the forum.
Findings of the study were that the more instructors participated, the less students did so.
Could this be like in a face to face classroom, if students are left alone or if the instructor stays quiet, the class discussion is louder, more boisterous and less directed whereas when a teacher is participative and regulates the discussion, albeit with a light touch, the discussion is possibly more meaningful, shorter, more organized and also less students participate. In a face to face discussion, the teacher draws out quiet students. This is not possible in an online discussion thread. But as soon as a student who participates less comes on board, I would acknowledge the remark with an encouraging remark of my own, or take the point being made further. I found my teacher, Pete did this in an online forum during this elearning course. It was encouraging to find his comment when I next clocked in.

“Students opine that:
Teachers who participate are more highly regarded than those who don’t and those who just do housekeeping on the forum.
Teachers who participate know their subject and are experts.
It is useful when teachers participate
Whether teachers participate or not, students would still express satisfaction for their forum experience.”

“ We found that most …students tend to rate their satisfaction with their overall educational experience highly, whether their instructors poste frequently or not.”
Some students felt that initially the teachers should not participate. They should join in only after the discussion is well underway, as this can kill off many threads.
Teachers tended to wrap up discussions in all courses irrespective whether they were for undergraduates and postgraduates.
Students appreciated wrap ups at the end of the forum discussions.
An instructor indicated that he posts comments during the two week period because he finds that there are many students who don’t look back at ‘previous two week periods in detail.”

At SAO instructors are encouraged to teach critical thinking skills, take the ‘Socratic approach’ to participating in online discussion forums. (McKnight, 2000). ‘ Here the underlying model is a constructivist one , which assumes that student knowledge and preconceptions can be drawn out through students-student and instructor-student asking and answering of questions in asynchronous discussion in ways not available in purely paper-based distance education. (for more on constructivist approaches to online education, see Anderson, 2002).