Post 71: Anatomy of a Great DQ Question

Post 71: Anatomy of a Great DQ Question

 Avoid factual questions that just has ONE answer.  If you ask only factual questions in your forum, students can just google the answer. This does not make for interesting forum discussion. Save factual questions for auto-quizzes.

Avoid giving writing prompts that ask for one answer in the DQ forums. Make sure you use open ended exploratory questions that require students to have several perspectives or several interpretations of the same question. "Open ended questions require learners to apply integrate information from multiple sources, including their own work or life experience. Questions to be posted early in the course may focus on how core concepts can be discerned within one's particular work or life experiences. Good discussion questions are open ended and exploratory. They require learners to 'inquire within' about what they currently believe and then to provide evidence to support their beliefs." (Conrad, 149)


Problem Solving Questions


Have students get together in the forum to solve a common problem.


Use What if questions

What if Martin Luther King had lived, what kind of President would he be?


Analysis Questions

Which world leader is more like a Confucian leader who leads by moral example? Which world leader is more like Machiavelli who leads by divide and conquer?  Is it better to lead by love and morals like Confucius?  Or is it better to lead by fear and strength?