What are some best practices for facilitating online discussions and feedback?

One approach to setting clear expectations is to create a shared understanding among participants by using a collaborative approach. This involves involving learners in the process of defining expectations, allowing them to contribute their ideas and perspectives. By actively involving learners, you promote ownership and commitment to meeting the defined expectations.

To learn from and with eachother, participants need a safe space that is clearly boundaried. The rules of engagement or, as Priya Parker writes, "the pop up rules" are the job of the facilitator. Great facilitators create rules that make sense for the setting and act in service to the learning space. When learners know the rules, have a chance to agree or disagree (and leave if needed), and when they can trust those rules to be tended to consistently, a trusted space becomes more and more visible. And in my experience, almost every participant will rise to the task and do their very best.

Using a variety of tools is also a powerful way to show consideration for the needs of each learner. Trauma is almost always in the room as is the impact of oppression and racism. By creating a variety of options for participants to share their ideas, more people can feel safe and empowered to participate.

An online discussion is an inefficient way to transmit learning, so the key is understanding which format works best for which type of learning. For example, teaching people to create hierarchical clustering algorithms in an online discussion would just waste everyone's time. However, if you provided a technical guide via high impact eLearning (putting its use in context, explaining each step both visually and through a story, etc.) and then had an online discussion about where people were getting stuck, that would be much more effective.

One effective strategy to encourage participation and interaction in online discussions and feedback is to create a sense of community among learners. Foster a supportive and collaborative environment by incorporating icebreaker activities, group projects, and peer-to-peer interactions. Encouraging learners to build connections and relationships can enhance engagement and motivate active participation.

I really appreciate Sabire's idea of fostering community. I find this to be important too. It's tricky because so much of our strategies are geared to asking introverts to be more extroverted. I try to be explicit about naming the paradox of the power of choice in how you participate and the value of contributing and inviting people to find the sweet spot that works for them in amongst the various options provided.

I've seen online discussions go very badly to the point that participants were turning off their camera rather than contribute to the discussion! I've also seen them work well. One technique that I have used is to create provocative poll questions - the key being that the answer is not obvious - and then have a debate around the issue. That gets people telling stories which inevitably prompts people to see the issue from a different perspective.

Data is very powerful .. our perceptions so often deceive us! The tools mentioned are useful, no doubt. However, it's also powerful to actually notice people. When I'm facilitating for groups of 30 or less I keep a printed sheet of paper with all their names on it and make notes and check marks when contributions matter (or have an assistant to support this). I use that data real time to offer invitations either privately through chat or openly or send a personal note after. I want people to feel they are supported in self-authorship and that they know I care about hearing what they have to offer.

Learning Facilitation is a fine art - an almost never ending quest of growth. Facilitating shared, rich explorations is perhaps the deepest level and experience giving presentations or leading meetings is something we almost have to recover from first. I think it's important to see yourself as a learner too and hold space for your own growth as you do for those participating.

I like to recruit a few motivated individuals to post to start with. That helps build a tempo and encourages others to participate. If you have a couple of good opening posts, it allows other learners to open up and share.