Discussions Overview

Discussion Board Participation

Each discussion, both "small group" and "class forum" is worth 10 points.  Both discussions open each Monday at 8:00 a.m.  The small group discussion closes on Friday at 11:59 p.m., and the class forum closes on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. 

Elements included in the evaluation of discussion board participation will include evidence of critical thinking, clear identification of the issues, understanding problems, and the ability to propose and evaluate solutions. All participants are expected to welcome open expression of opinions, attitudes, and beliefs and to accept the legitimacy and value of dissent. In addition to respect for the ideas of your classmates and the instructor, common courtesy is also expected. See the instructions given in each discussion board thread for information about the requirements for the given thread. Remember that discussion board participation is graded both on adherence to the assignment and upon the quality of the given response.  Responses which demonstrate a high level of critical thinking skills and respect for the view of others will receive full credit.  Responses which display lower levels of critical thinking skills or no critical thinking skills or which fail to engage substantively and respectfully with others' views will receive correspondingly lower grades.

It is essential that you make your contribution to the discussions (especially the small group discussions) promptly. Most discussions require that you not only make an original post, but respond to the posts of at least two other students. For the small group discussions, you need to make an original post by Thursday at noon. For the class forum (at least for those which require responses) you need to post by Friday at noon.

Discussions are generally graded according to the following rubric:

Original post   up to 6 points (see above for criteria)

Promptness     up to 2 points (for posting by Thursday/Friday at noon)

Responses       up to 2 points (for substantive responses to at least two other students)