What happens to class participation during a pandemic, when traditional instruction shifts to online and hybrid formats? This chapter explores the possibilities for resilient online pedagogy through the redesign of asynchronous discussion forums in hybrid and online classes. After a review of both the perils and possibilities of such forums, I outline practical redesign strategies for four forum elements: prompts, parameters, feedback practices, and rubrics. The effects of these adjustments are illustrated with examples from upper-division courses in linguistics and ESL teaching methods. Next, I address the particular difficulties faced by first-year writing students in online discussions; building on tenets of genre-based pedagogy, I present a model for introducing asynchronous discussion in first-year writing courses, especially those paired with corequisite or “learning support” sections. The redesign model suggests that even in times of uncertainty, strategically managed online discussion forums can support resilient pedagogy and student learning.
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