As a Teach for America teacher from 2007-2009 the importance of lesson planning was drilled into my head over and over again. Within TFA's system of planning is the common approach of "I do, we do, you do..." These of course are the simple steps of direct instruction, guided practice, and independent practice. I saw great results with this method with my students in inner city Philly and I think it can be a great approach to teaching material online.

The Discussion Forums can be a good space for the "I do, we do, and you do" method. However, it may be helpful to think of these posts as "mini- lessons." These are short lessons directly tied to the module objectives and related to the other discussion questions. Let me illustrate with an example from an Intro to Business Graduate Studies Course I teach. The following "mini-lesson" is posted as a follow up discussion question on the topic of building relationships and community. (I put the "I do" and the "We do" section into one post and the "You do" section into a separate post)

(I do- Direct Instruction)

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout the six-year-old protagonist, has a discussion with her friend Dill about the trustworthiness of adults. Dill having run    away from home, is trying to explain to Scout why he left. Scout asks, "Didn't you all build that boat that you said you were gonna?" Dill replies, "He just said we would. We never did." Then Scout reveals the feelings that many children may have toward adults, " Its no reason to run off. They don't get around to doin' what they say they're gonna do half the time..."(Lee, 1960, p. 142).

While this story is about children and adults, I think it applies to our grown up relationships too. In many ways, trust is the glue that holds things together. It is more than just a nicety of life, it is a necessity. This week as we study community building I am reminded that truly great communities are built on foundations of trust.

(We do- Guided Practice)

Please watch the following video and answer the accompanying questions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMRcTid6MJ4

In the book mentioned in the movie entitled "The Speed of Trust," author Stephen MR Covey defines trust as: character plus competency. In other words, it is not good enough just to be competent, or just to have good character. For instance, my wife has good character, but I would not trust her to do open heart surgery on me.  This is not because she has a character flaw, but rather because her competency is lacking in the area of performing heart surgery. In this way, trust is a two-part equation. The first part is related to how we manage others and ourselves, and the second is concerned with our technical expertise.

One of the main ingredients in building community is building trust. But what is trust? What makes a person trustworthy?

(You do- Independent Practice)

After thinking about what trust means to you and how trust influences the way community is built, please consider the following: Can you describe a time when you felt really trusted by someone else? How did this influence your behavior or performance? Also, think of a time when you felt alack of trust in a working relationship or otherwise- what effects did this mistrust have one you?

(End of Example)

This is just one way to incorporate mini-lessons into your discussion forums. Give it a try and see how it engages students in the content of the module.

References:

Covey, S. M. R., & Merrill, R. R. (2006). The speed of trust: The one thing that changes everything. New York: Free Press.

Lee, H. (1960). To kill a mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott.