The CREST+ model, a model for writing effective online discussion questions, covers the cognitive nature of the question, the reading basis, any experiential possibility, style and type of question, and finally ways to structure a good question.  This model encourages students to participate in online forum discussions, provides a template for new online faculty to use in creating effective discussion questions, and promotes a higher level processing of the material.

The CREST+ model covers the cognitive nature of the question [C], the reading basis [R], any experiential [E] possibility, style and type of question [ST] , and finally ways to structure a good question [+]. 

Nonverbal communication adds nuance or richness of meaning that cannot be communicated by verbal elements alone. Given time and experience, some of the same richness of real-time, face-to-face communication can occur in a virtual, text-based medium.

They focus group energy, they permit real-time interaction (which can help develop group cohesion, especially for those less familiar with media-based learning) and, most importantly, they provide a familiar instructional environment that mimic many positive features found in the traditional classroom environment (i.e., synchronicity, verbal rather than text-based interaction, instructor presence, whiteboard presentation facilities, hand-raising for turn-taking, public and private messaging capabilities).

Some students spend many hours communicating asynchronously, having a much richer dialogue than could have been possible through the best face-to-face facilitation.

<p>The purpose of this project is to support a personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning experience. Central to the study introduced here is the <a href="http://communitiesofinquiry.com/sub/coi_model.html">model of a community of inquiry</a> that constitutes four elements essential to an educational experience: </p> <ul> <li><a href="http://communitiesofinquiry.com/sub/cognitive.html">Cognitive Presence</a></li> <li><a href="http://communitiesofinquiry.com/sub/social.html">Social Presence</a></li> <li><a href="http://communitiesofinquiry.com/sub/teaching.html">Teaching Presence</a></li> <li><a href="http://communitiesofinquiry.com/sub/methodology.html">Methodology</a></li></ul>