Week 2 Discussion Board Assignment (Part 1 due Sat., June 22 and Part 2 due Sun, June 23)

Guidelines and Rubric for Discussion Board Assignments

In this class, online discussions will count towards your Participation grade in the course (see syllabus). The purpose of the discussion board is to frame and promote collaborative learning. Active and regular participation is not only important for me to see, but also important for you in learning the course content and in developing your thoughts and positions on various topics.

The total of your participation in a single discussion board question (topic) will be graded on a 100-point scale.

Here is the protocol for posting and contributing to an online discussion:

The three cardinal rules for Discussion Boards:

1. Please remember that the cultural of mutual respect that is part of this course extends into the virtual classroom environment.

2. Participation in these discussion boards is required. 3. Participation alone is not enough; a thoughtful and meaningful approach in your posts is required. (Quality

counts!)

a. You are expected to post the required number of times specified by the assignment.

b. Your initial post should be the length specified by the assignment. Posts that fall below the word- count minimum will have points deducted.

c. Response posts should meet the length requirement specified by the assignment. Explain your response with supporting evidence and concepts from the readings. Include a reference, link, or citation when appropriate.

d. Be organized in your thoughts and ideas. e. Incorporate correlations with the assigned readings or topics. You are expected to incorporate

textual evidence in the form of examples and/or quotations from the text you are discussing.

f. Stay on topic.

g. Provide evidence of critical, college-level thinking and thoughtfulness in your responses or interactions. Avoid summarizing (unless stipulated by the assignment).

h. Contribute to the learning community by being creative in your approaches to topics, being relevant in the presented viewpoints, and attempting to motivate the discussion.

i. Be aware of grammar and sentence mechanics.

j. Use proper etiquette. Remember that being respectful is critical.

Discussion Rubric: Participating is measured by posting the required number of times, depending on the assignment instructions. Your participation will be graded on a 100-point scale as follows.

A Discussion (90-100 points) A-level postings:

▪ Meet the required number of posts

▪ Are made in a timely fashion, giving others an opportunity to respond. ▪ Are thoughtful and analyze the content or question asked. ▪ Make connections to the course content and demonstrate an understanding of the text(s) being addressed by

the assignment. ▪ Include textual evidence in the form of examples or quotations. ▪ Response posts do not simply agree or disagree, but rather extend discussions already taking place. ▪ All posts are free (or are mostly free) of grammar, punctuation, and syntax errors.

*If these criteria are met but the word-count minimum is not met, the score will automatically drop.

B Discussion (80-89 points)

B-level postings: ▪ Meet or almost meet the required number of posts ▪ Are made in a timely fashion, giving others an opportunity to respond. ▪ Are thoughtful and analyze the content or question asked. ▪ Make connections to the course content/texts, but connections are unclear, not firmly established, or are not

obvious. ▪ Include some textual examples, but examples may or may not be fully explained ▪ Contain novel ideas, connections, and/or real-world application but lack depth, detail and/or explanation. ▪ Response posts are interesting, but tend to agree or disagree with what has already been voiced. ▪ Posts may contain some grammar, punctuation, and/or syntax errors.

*If these criteria are met but the word-count minimum is not met, the score will automatically drop.

C Discussion (70-79 points) C-level postings:

▪ Do not meet the required number of posts ▪ Are usually, but not always, made in a timely fashion. ▪ Are generally accurate, but the information delivered is limited. ▪ Make vague or incomplete connections between class content and posting by other students. ▪ Summarize what other students have posted and contain few novel ideas. ▪ Show marginal effort to become involved with group. ▪ Does not meet the minimum word count. ▪ Posts contain substantial grammar, punctuation, and/or syntax errors.

D Discussion (60-69 points) D level postings:

▪ Do not meet the required number of posts ▪ Are superficial, lacking in analysis or critique.

▪ Contribute few novel ideas, connections, or applications. ▪ May veer off topic. ▪ Show little effort to participate in learning community as it develops. ▪ Does not meet the minimum word count. ▪ Posts contain grammar, punctuation, and/or syntax errors that make it difficult to understand what the author is

saying.

F Discussion (0 points). ▪ Participant was rude or abusive to other course participants. In this case, the number and quality of other posts is

irrelevant. OR

▪ Participant failed to meet the basic criteria for the “D Discussion”.