Mitigating Online Learning Frustration by Documenting Discussion Board Exchanges

Abstract

During the summer of 2023, the authors of this chapter—instructors and instructional designers from Daemen University—embarked on a pedagogical documentation project, positioning themselves as learners and their students as their teachers. They found that the discussion board embedded in each of their online classrooms became a place where learners made their experiences and thoughts about frustration visible, connected with each another, and came to feel less alone in their struggles. They deepened their relationships with classmates and instructors who not only shared their struggles but were responsive to one another in unexpected and culturally affirming ways. Problems were solved there, and perhaps more importantly, learners deepened their self-awareness and began shaping and evolving our classroom community on the board. In this chapter, the authors describe how they expanded their use of pedagogical documentation in online discussion boards to inform their practice and humanize their online classrooms.