Using Flipgrid for Critical THinking Discussions: An Engaging Alternative to Discussion Boards

Color photo of a girl holding a black smartphone out and looking into it. Photo by Julia m Cameron, downloaded from Pexels.com

​Below are the instructions I share for what I call Critical Thinking Discussions on Flipgrid. I host three of these formal Flipgrid discussions every quarter/semester. Students serve as Discussion Starters for one of the three discussions and Deep Thinkers for the other two. I use Canvas groups to randomly assign students to the Discussion Starter and Deep Thinker roles across the three discussions.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR Discussion Starter

This assignment is only relevant to the discussion starters for Flipgrid critical thinking discussion #2. Each learner in this course has been assigned to start a discussion in one of the three critical thinking Flipgrid discussions in this course. Propose and lock-in your topic and quotations for this Flipgrid via this google document. First come, first serve.

You may interact with Flipgrid via a web browser or via the Flipgrid smartphone or tablet application. The flip code for this class is _________ and the grid password is ____________.

For critical thinking discussion #2, you will start a discussion on your approved topic and then manage discussions on that topic.

In your minimum up to five-minute (but not less than four-minute) discussion starter post, respond to all of these questions: 

• Your Topic: What topic really got you thinking as you consumed the learning materials for chapters 4 and 6 and why? Introduce the topic and share at least two reasons why you chose this topic for this grid. Be specific and go deep. It should be obvious that this topic matters to you so choose one that you really want to discuss.
• Your Quotations: What two or more specific quotations from the learning materials relevant to the topic got you thinking and why? Share some of the most insightful (a-ha moment) quotations from the learning materials that grabbed your attention and really got you thinking about the topic. Share why you think these quotations are profound and helped influence you to think deeply about this topic. The quotations you choose should help you start a provocative, meaningful discussion with the class about your topic.
• Your Thoughts: What are your thoughts about this topic and how it is relevant and important to all of us? Convince us that we should care about this topic and its implications for our personal and/or professional lives. Share examples that demonstrate the long-term value and relevance of this topic to our personal and professional lives. It should be obvious that you've outlined your thoughts and have some important things to say about the topic.
• Your Questions: What two open-ended questions do you have for all of us to ponder as we prepare to respond to your topic as deep thinkers? Share questions that are appropriate for debate and discussion. Make sure your questions provide opportunities for people to share personal experiences and logical arguments that can help us all think deeply about the topic. Don't ask factual questions that can simply be answered by the learning materials. Ask questions related to the application of what we are learning in our personal and professional lives.

Create a brief outline of your thoughts to help you organize your thoughts before you record your Flipgrid response. Don't "wing" your video; it's obvious to everyone and it evidences your unwillingness to go deep with your topic. You have a lot of time to plan your video; use that time wisely to produce your best work.

Good news! You can retry your initial thread as many times as you want before you share. Do your best and have fun with this Flipgrid.

Courtesy Replies: Reply briefly, but meaningfully, to all responses to your own video. Replies should be timely and help keep the discussion moving forward. It should be obvious from your reply that you watched the video.

Timely Participation: You should participate in the grid every day that discussion is open (i.e., Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) and reply Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday to all participants in your grid. It's your grid topic; check on its status at least two to three times a day to see if there are replies to respond to.

Flipgrid Video Due: XXX

​Courtesy Replies Due: XXXX
 
Rubric:

INSTRUCTIONS FOR Deep Thinkers

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This assignment is relevant only to the deep thinkers for this critical thinking Flipgrid discussion.

In your minimum, two-minute video responses to the discussion starter responses within at least four of the topics started in this grid, share your reactions to the content shared by each learner in a way that attempts to move the discussion forward or deeper. Let us aim to make sure everyone receives at least two replies from other learners. In addition, spread out your replies across at least three days of discussion: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. You will not earn full credit if all of your replies are posted on Sunday, for example. Please be sure to refer to other replies to the original video too. We want to involve everyone in the discussion of this topic.

Good news! You can retry your replies as many times as you want before you share. Do your best and have fun with this first poll.
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Flipgrid Video Replies Due: XXXXX
 
Rubric:

Keep in mind that I walk through assignments, muddy points, questions, and opportunities for improvements to the course during weekly web conferences.
 
If you would like to meet on Zoom, I can show you how things look on Flipgrid and Canvas and share some examples of what students produce. 

Written by Bob DuBois