For students who learn best through dialogue, feedback and collaboration.
They think with their mouths – and understand the material best when they have to explain it to others or engage in professional conversations.
Key idea: Learning is created in relationships
For many students, the social is a key to both motivation and understanding. Therefore, it is important that we also create space for social interaction in asynchronous learning objects – even if it does not happen simultaneously.
Toolbox: Social Modalities for Asynchronous Acquisition
| Modality | What does it do? | Example from computer science education | IT option (e.g. Rise) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forum-based tasks | Creates space for subject-specific discussion and questions | “How would you explain the Singleton design pattern to a beginner?” | Link to external forum, embedded comment thread |
| Peer sharing (Padlet, Miro) | Provides insight into others’ perspectives and ideas | Share your solutions for coding style in a team project | Embedded Padlet, iframe solution |
| Comment threads | Enable dialogue around specific elements | Provide feedback on a peer’s system architecture | Google Docs, Rise with embedded comments |
| Asynchronous dilemma exercises | Foster reflection and open up exchange of viewpoints | “You discover a bug, but your colleague does not want to fix it…” – what do you do? | Scenario block, multiple choice with peer replies |
| Student-generated content | Builds ownership and activates learning through explanation | “Create a short video tip about SCRUM and share it with the class” | Upload feature or sharing via Padlet |
Didactic reflection
When designing social learning elements, consider:
- How can your students help each other learn?
- What questions or tasks open up dialogue?
- How can you be visible and support the community – also asynchronously?
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Assignment: Use Padlet for professional sharing and feedback
You have previously written a short reflection text about your own practice in relation to learning approaches. Now you must return to the common Padlet, where all participants' reflections are located.
Your task:
- Read at least two other people's reflections
- Comment on both from a professional and appreciative angle., fx:
- Where do you see strengths in their approach?
- What inspired you?
- What questions could they consider working on further?
The purpose:
We learn not only through our own reflection – but also through the reflection of others. By reading and responding to each other's thoughts, we strengthen both insight and community.