Structured and unstructured discussion forums as tools for student engagement

Online discussion forums as teaching tools are becoming increasingly popular in college classrooms. The manner in which they are designed (and in particular, the amount of structure imposed) can affect how engaging of an activity it is for students. The current study analyzed responses to structured and unstructured discussion forums to determine how each impacted student engagement (specifically by studying the use of feedback, modeling, and empowerment). Results found students to respond positively to both forums, but structured forums were generally perceived to be more engaging. The nature of “structure” in forums is discussed, as well as how it can be manipulated to promote student engagement.