Despite the wide use of discussion in online courses, the quality of these exchanges varies. In this article, the authors draw on the community of inquiry (CoI) model to inform the design of what we call "first responder/connector" (FR/C) discussions, which are student-led asynchronous online discussions. The authors propose and describe four instructional design features of the online FR/C discussions that aim to create the conditions for social connections that support learning in teacher education. The authors illustrate these design features in an example of a FR/C discussion thread in a classroom management course. With these features of online discussion design, teacher educators can assist preservice teachers in moving away from superficial discussion responses to more meaningful dialogue and engagement with peers, ultimately leading to greater learning outcomes.