Discus Assessment
J. Chem. Ed., vol 76, May 1999, pp 704-8
Notes:
Discus has been used for 3 years at Hope College, and an assessment was published in a recent J Chem Ed article.
Most students agreed that Discus enhances faculty accessibility and communication. Over half of ChemBoard visits were after 5pm, when professors are at home (or have their doors closed). Some of the most frequent contributors were students who did not regularly ask questions in class. Discus gave them a voice!
Whether or not Discus enhanced student-student discussion strongly depended on how it was used in a particular course, with responses ranging from 2.7 where is was used primarily for information dissemination to 4.2 where it was used for course discussion and result sharing.
Students universally perceived Discus to be extremely easy to use. The bottom line is that students strongly agree that Discus enhanced their education.
My main observation on how to effectively use a discussion board in a course is that the posted information must be worthwhile for students read and to contribute. The keys are to:
1) Post high value information, such as exam keys or hints on homework.
2) Reward participation with points.