Improving participation in online discussion – group size and focus

group Size
Basically I’ve found the larger the group, the more non-active participants (i.e. those who log on to read but don’t actively post) there are. I usually have small group work with about 6 people if I want all people to actively participate. I also try not to have groups of more than about 20 for any activity – using a group reporting mechanism when working with larger numbers of students.

Focus
It’s also really important to have focussed tasks. Try to have specific things you want the students to do, rather than a broad open-ended question.
For example, rather than saying
“Discuss the use of colour in communication as it is portrayed on web pages”
I might say
“Select three colours that you know have differing meanings for different cultures. Investigate how these colours have been used in web pages, discussing this in terms of unambiguity of message, assumptions made about the understanding of the colour’s use, particularly in relation to culture and the guidelines for acceptable use of colour.”