Handling equity and diversity issues sensitively can be a key to retention in online programs. In asynchronous discussion forums, participants usually come from diverse backgrounds, including gender and culture, and the textual cues they post online are usually reflections of their own diversity. Such postings sometimes disclose personal information, whether the authors are consciously doing so or not. These disclosures could impact the interaction online in meaningful ways.

What is usually required to promote this and any other kind of interaction is a sense of safety on the part of participants to express themselves without fear of repercussions. This sense of safety could enhance the learning experience, promote academic performance, and create a learning community in which participants are enriched by each other’s ideas and the sharing of individual and common personal experiences. Having online facilitators who are sensitive to diversity issues and skilled in facilitating the exchange of content in discussion forums becomes a critical component that defines the effectiveness and quality of an online course. What follows are suggestions for facilitating issues of equity that foster respect for personal differences in online courses.

For many of us who have done online facilitation before, I think we would agree that this is not an easy task. Common to any facilitator role is the active promotion of strategies that result in deeper and deepening insights among participants as well as shared inquiry. This is usually manifested in discussion forums and may be enhanced by fostering a safe and prosperous learning community by the facilitator. An effective facilitator is mindful and purposeful about diversity and its accompanying issues, ensuring equity and respect for all.

A goal of equitable online facilitation is the promotion of a safety net and the provision of opportunities to freely express one’s ideas, feelings, and experiences in an online discussion forum. The hope is that this will ensure respect for diversity and other important issues as well as promote reflection and better understanding. At the Education Development Center’s Gender, Diversities, and Technology Institute, we explored issues regarding equity in online professional development. Based on Dr. Joyce Kaser’s publication, “Equity in On-line Professional Development: A Guide to E-learning That Works for Everyone” (2004), I describe briefly the suggestions discussed for facilitating issues of equity in online courses.

1. Monitor the course to make sure that the equity content is accurate and comprehensive. The facilitator is the individual who must be aware of possible stereotypes and biases embedded in the course and who is able to examine and analyze these issues in light of what is being discussed in the course and the forum.

2. Establish early an environment that enables participants to be safe and secure. This could come from the type of professional development or learning the group is participating in as well as the facilitator’s style of engagement. The facilitator could provide the ground rules, including the right to ask questions and to respond in ways that are respectful of one another. The facilitator could also take the discussion to a deeper level or move to the exploration of issues with equity implications.

3. Intervene, as necessary, to keep the discussion on track. When participants become disrespectful to each other, demonstrate rude behavior (flaming), or post inaccurate information, the facilitator needs to intervene as quickly as possible. While a telephone call could be an effective course of action, much of the conflict resolution should be done online. Modeling good and effective behavior that fosters equitable interaction is critical.

4. Monitor the level of trust that exists. The facilitator is the agent who promotes the building of trust among participants. At the same time, the facilitator makes sure that any sensitive issue that becomes a point of discussion and exploration within the course is appropriate for the level of trust within the group. When several of the participants post messages and no one dominates the discussion in any significant way, it is possible that participants trust one another to express what’s on their minds.

5. Note your own hesitancy about exploring any aspect of equity. The facilitator should ask him/herself what his/her personal biases or fears might be that may interfere with effective facilitation. These issues may result in the facilitator’s avoidance of certain salient topics or discomfort when participants raise points related to those topics. In such an instance, the facilitator could raise his/her reservations to the group, making this a learning opportunity for everyone.

While online courses are becoming increasingly available, online facilitators are faced with finding effective strategies that help promote excellence in teaching and learning. Knowing and implementing ways to facilitate that respect diversity and ensure equitable interaction is a sure step in the right direction. This could result in deeper insights, reflection, and understanding.

References

Bender, T. (2003). Discussion-based Online Teaching to Enhance Student Learning: Theory, Practice and Assessment. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Castano, M. (2003). Disclosure in Online Racial Dialogues: A Study of How and Why Participants Disclose, and How Others Respond to the Disclosure. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.

Collison, G., Elbaum, B., Haavind, S. & Tinker, R. (2000). Facilitating Online Learning: Effective Strategies for Moderators. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing.

Collison, G., Facilitating Online Learning: Effective Strategies for Moderators. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing.

Hanson, K., Flansburg, S. & Castano, M. (2004). Genderspace: Learning Online and the Implications of Gender. In Suki, A., Benjamin, S. & Mauthner, M. L. (Eds.). The Politics of Gender and Education: Critical Perspectives. London: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.

Kaser, J. S. (2004). Equity in On-line Professional Development: A Guide to E-learning that Works for Everyone. Gender, Diversities, and Technology Institute, Education Development Center, Inc., Newton, MA.

Palloff, R. M. & Pratt, K. (1999). Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace: Effective Strategies for the Online Classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Palloff, R. M. & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating Online: Learning Together in Community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning.

Rudenstam, K. E. & Schoenholtz-Read, J. (Eds., 2002). Handbook of Online Learning: Innovations in Higher Education and Corporate Training. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Marianne Castano Bishop (EdD, Harvard University) is the instructional strategies consultant at the University Center for Excellence in Teaching at Indiana University South Bend. She is also associate faculty in the Psychology Department.

This article first appeared in Online Classroom, a monthly newsletter for instructors involved with online instruction. See what Online Classroom can do for you. Try a free 3-month trial.