Use of online asynchronous discussion boards to engage students, enhance critical thinking, and foster staff-student/student-student collaboration: A mixed method study.

Background: The ongoing challenges of managing large student enrolments and increasing demand from students for online learning platforms and teaching strategies has helped drive tertiary implementation of asynchronous online discussion boards (AOD). However, supporting and assessing students in such a forum remains contentious.
Methods: This explorative, mixed methods study examined and evaluated the usage and perceptions of a unique form of AOD used in a postgraduate nursing course. Student survey and semi-structured interviews with staff (n = 3) were used to explore the structures, processes and outcomes of inclusion of an AOD in this online course. Triangulation of themes emerging from the staff interviews, survey outcomes, and student free text responses enabled appraisal of AOD, focusing primarily on its contribution to course content and assessment.
Results: Students' survey responses (approx. 24% of the cohort; n = 34) were largely positive. Themes that arose from the qualitative data included i) AOD to build a sense of student community, ii) AOD to encourage interaction with and deliberation of course content, iii) stimuli and challenges around assessing the discussion board, and iv) easy to use IT interface made it a more positive experience. Student responses suggested that scaffolding, feedback and sufficient time allocation were required. Many factors impacted on student interaction with the AOD, including a lack of time due to paid work and other coursework and assessments.
Discussion: Overall, staff and students reported the assessed AOD was a positive course component. It encouraged engagement with staff, other students and the subtleties of complex course content, critical appraisal and discussion of evidence, and application to clinical practice. Exemplars and explicit marking criteria setting out the need for informed contributions were considered crucial by all stakeholders.
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