Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching - National University

affordance of opportunities for self-assessment in relation to course learning outcomes, initiation
of learner-centered assignments and activities, and delineation of reliable pathways to student
success, including perception of assessment consequences as meaningful and fair (Hirumi,
2005).
There is broad agreement among researchers, instructors, and course developers about the
generalized criteria for success in education. A survey of pedagogical goals applicable to most
higher-education learning situations might typically include the following: (a) learners’ needs
must be central; (b) expected course learning outcomes, learning objectives, and course goals
should be fully stated at the outset of a course; (c) course assignments or “learning events”
should be designed and sequenced in line with course learning outcomes; (d) rationales for how
assignments relate to the achievement of learning goals should accompany assignment
descriptions; (e) the delivery of course elements such as content modules, instructional materials,
learning activities, and assessment tools should be aligned to distinct learning environments; (f)
learning elements should be geared toward engaging multiple learning styles; (g) timely, useful,
and individualized feedback must follow all important or graded student work; (h) course
assignments and activities should engender high levels of interpersonal interaction at all levels
(instructor-class, instructor-individual student, student-student); and (i) evaluative summaries
and grade justifications should align with learning objectives and follow a logical and
standardized rubric that is published at the start of the course (Edmondson, 2007; Fabry, 2009;
Koszalka & Ganesan, 2004; Saulnier, Landry, Longenecker, & Wagner, 2008). Although the
learning tool presented here was created for use in an online course, it can easily be adapted to
other delivery platforms. Following Fabry (2009), with careful attention to research in
pedagogical theory and effective learning-design strategies, comparable learning experiences in
hybrid learning environments as well as face-to-face courses can be generated to reach the
desired goals of all stakeholders in the broader endeavors of higher education.
The Q&A Forum
The Need for Interaction
There is widespread acknowledgement that successful education, whether online or face-to-face,
relies on both good teaching and effective learning design, and both entail reliable and
meaningful interaction between instructor and students as well as (student) peer interaction,
cooperation, and collaboration (Chickering & Gamson, 1987). Moreover, essential to success in
learning is positive and quantifiable demonstration of student comprehension of course content.
In online venues, combining the two overarching goals of critical interaction and effective
assessment has led to the near-universal adoption of the asynchronous, text-based interactive
“threaded” discussion assignment or “discussion board.” Bliss and Lawrence (2009) point out
that the discussion board provides an interactive framework in which learners can become part of
a “community of inquiry” and thereby build social networks and avenues of communication that
are unavailable in traditional pedagogical situations, where students submit individual written
work to the instructor, who then responds to each student privately with feedback and assessment
scores. Bliss and Lawrence also maintain that discussion-board assignments foster use of higherorder
critical thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis or creation, and evaluation (Bloom, 1956;
see Krathwohl, 2002 for a recent overview and revision of Bloom’s taxonomy). Beyond this,
discussion boards allow instructors to function as both facilitators and teachers—stimulating,
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