| Discussion Board (DB) Participation Rubric |
| Discussion boards (DBs) are what make an online course a course and not an independent study. |
| DBs are vital to demonstrating that the learner has met the expected course level outcomes. |
| Collaboration between peers and your instructor in the DB is an important aspect of the online learning experience and is expected in the course. |
| Any exceptions to the following DB rubric will be at the instructor’s discretion. |
| The purpose of a DB is to stimulate critical thinking in a scholarly manner. |
| Critical thinking consists of synthesis, creating solutions, application to real world situations, and testing, debating, and defending evidence-based solutions. |
| Critical thinking is not repetition of assigned reading material. Outside research of the literature is a vital part of the DB. |
| Posts need to be substantive. This means that responses such as "I agree" or "great post" do not meet grading rubric requirements. |
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| Initial posts for each discussion question (DQ) is due no later than Saturday of the unit week. |
| The initial post must be an answer to the DQ topic, not a comment on other posts. Initial posts for each DB must also include a minimum of three peer-reviewed citations. |
| Citations must include outside sources and no more than one citation from assigned course readings may be used each week. |
| While the discussion board tool limits the ability to use APA formatting (e.g., hanging indents), posts must include the required elements of an APA in-text citation and list of references. |
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| | Inappropriate | Below Average | Average | Above Average | Score | Weight | Final Score |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Initial post timeliness | Provides an initial post on or after Sunday. | N/A | N/A | Provides an initial post by Saturday. | | 15% | 0.00 |
| Additional comment requirement | Does not post responses to others. | Posts one comment per Discussion topic. | Posts 2 comments per Discussion topic on separate days. At least one comment includes a citation. | Posts 2 comments per Discussion topic on separate days (resulting in total participation on three different days throughout the discussion). At least two comments include a citation. | | 10% | 0.00 |
| Engagement | N/A | Participates, but does not post anything that encourages others to respond to the posting. | Attempts to motivate the group discussion. | Frequently attempts to motivate the group discussion. | | 5% | 0.00 |
| Content Quality Initial Response | Submission does not relate to the topic. | Answers some question/topics with some clearly stated opinions. Supports post using text only. | Answers all questions with opinions and ideas that are stated clearly. Supports post using text and at least two peer-reviewed sources. | Answers all questions with opinions/ideas creatively and clearly. Supports post using several outside, peer-reviewed sources. | | 35% | 0.00 |
| APA Format | Major errors or no APA format used. | Minor errors with APA format. | Rare errors with APA format. | No errors with APA format. | | 10% | 0.00 |
| Spelling/
Grammar/ Formatting/ Mechanics | Significant errors in spelling and/or grammar. Major flaws in writing mechanics and formatting. | Poor spelling and grammar are apparent. | Uses Standard American English with rare errors and misspellings. | Consistently uses Standard American English with no misspellings. Appropriate mechanics and formatting. | | 10% | 0.00 |
| Length | Submission does not meet length requirements. | N/A | N/A | The initial post is at least 200 words. This does not include repeating the DB question or the citations and references. | | 15% | 0.00 |
| | | | | | | 100% | 0.00 |
| | | | | | Final Score | | 0 |
| | | | | | Percentage | | ERROR:#DIV/0! |
| Total available points = | | | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | Instructions: First enter total points possible in cell C15, under the rubric. Next enter scores (between 0 and 4) into yellow cells only in column F. |
| Rubric Score | | Grade points | | Percentage |
| Low | High | Low | High | Low | High |
| 3.5 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 90% | 100% |
| 2.5 | 3.49 | 0 | 0 | 80% | 89.99% |
| 1.7 | 2.49 | 0 | 0 | 70% | 79.99% |
| 0.0 | 1.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69.99% |