Discussion Board

Discussion Board Instructions

There are four Discussion Board (DB) forum assignments in this course. Each DB forum will be completed in two parts: 1) a 300-word post (thread) in response to the presented case study, and 2) a 100-word reply post to the threads of two classmates. All posts should incorporate research and should be formatted in APA style.

Each forum discussion takes place over a period of two course weeks. The thread in each forum is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of the first week. Since replies cannot be posted within the same day, the first reply post is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Thursday of the second week, and the last reply is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of the second week.

Thread

To begin a discussion assignment, review the case study presented in the DB forum and consider the questions at the end. Research sources in support of your answers; a minimum number of sources is not required, but they should be scholarly and can include the Bible. Then, compose a post in APA format which addresses those questions and incorporates your research. Be sure to include a works cited list at the end of your composition (this list is not included in word-count requirements). The purpose of this research criterion is to encourage you to contribute academic content to the course; therefore, failure to do so will result in a substantial deduction to your grade. First person voice is allowed, but your writing otherwise should be as professional as possible: it should be free of spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors. 

Once you’ve finished composing your post in a word processor, copy and paste it into a new thread within the forum.

Replies

Read two of the threads posted by your classmates; select at least one thread which presents the opposite conclusion of your thread. Compose a reply for each using a word processor. Each response should be APA-formatted and should incorporate research to support your opinions and ideas. Please note that “I like what you said,” “That’s a good comment,” and “I disagree with your comment” in and of themselves do not count as a complete reply. Rather, stating reasons that support the opinion, adding additional ideas/thoughts, or providing alternative ideas/thoughts count as a reply. Courtesy in any disagreement is expected; thus, personal attacks or calling an idea “stupid,” etc. are not acceptable and will count against your grade.

With a thread opened on your computer screen, click on “Reply” and then copy and paste your related reply composition into the message box. To enhance the dynamic nature of discussion, be sure to post only one reply–not both–before the first reply deadline (as stated above).

One of the goals of Discussion Board assignments is to encourage student community learning; thus, not every posting will have a response from the professor. Rather, the instructor may respond to a few postings in a way that adds to the conversation, asks a pertinent question, or summarizes some of the key points made by students.

NOTE: Attachments should not be used for posts or replies because they inhibit the flow of discussion. Accordingly, posts and replies posted as attachments will be given a grade of 0.