Discussion Question

Within Minute Paper / Muddiest Point active learning activities, you can use Top Hat to collect and share results from participants using the Discussions question. This question type allows students to type their response or question to a prompt from the instructor.

Creating a Discussion Question

• In your Canvas course, select Top Hat from the navigation bar. You will be brought to your Top Hat course space.
• Select Create | Discussion under Create Content category.
• Provide a title for the discussion question (example: March 8 Lecture Prompt) in the Title section.
• Question prompts are entered into the Topic section.
  • Muddiest Point example: After engaging in this activity, what questions remain?
  • Minute Paper example: Before discussing today's reading, share three points that stood out to you.

Response Options

There are a few important options to set to control who can see the responses shared by students. 

• Responses can be seen by: 
  • Everyone: All students will be able to see what other students share. This can be useful if you want to facilitate an understanding that other students may have similar questions.
  • Professor only: Only the instructor will be able to see the responses. This can be useful if you want to see gaps in understanding or perspectives on sensitive topics. 
• Participants are anonymous to:
  • Participants only: If Everyone is selected in the previous option, you can designate those results anonymously to other students.
  • Everyone: Results are anonymous to everyone, including the instructor.
  • No one: Attribution to responses is shared with everyone.