Syllabus - Discussion Forums

Discussion Forums

Online courses require more of a student than just completing assignments. If your learning experience in this class is to be effective then you must participate in class discussions. A percentage of your class grade will be based on your participation. Participation is defined as posting in discussion forums and completing both the weekly project activities and the skills review projects.

>>> To receive full participation credit for a weekly discussion, you must:

Post your initial posting by the first due date of the week as indicated in the weekly assignment.
Respond to at least two other postings before the end of the scheduled week.

>>> Important notes about participation credit <<<

To receive consideration for credit, a posting must contribute to the discussion with more than statements like "I agree with you," or "I was thinking the same thing," or other similar responses. It's okay to agree with someone, but try to be specific as to why you agree. And conversely, it's okay to disagree as well, just respectfully explain your point of view.
Any posting made after the end of the scheduled week in which the discussion was held will not be counted for credit at all. That would be like walking into the classroom after everyone has left and saying something!

Discussions will be scored using the following rubric:

General Discussion Scoring
Criteria	Rating				Points
Quality of initial post	3.0 pts Excellent The student applied critical thinking in the development of a thoughtful and relevant post.	2.0 pts Good The student applied little critical thinking in the development of the post.	1.0 pts Needs Improvement The student appeared not to apply critical thinking in the development of a post.	0.0 pts No Post No Initial post	3.0 pts
Quality of Responses	3.0 pts Excellent The student applied critical thinking in the development of a thoughtful and relevant response to two other postings.	2.0 pts Good The student applied little critical thinking in the development of the two responses.	1.0 pts Needs Improvement The student appeared not to apply critical thinking in the development of a post, or only responded to one other posting.	0.0 pts No Posts No response postings.	3.0 pts
First Due Date	2.0 pts First Due Date Student posted the initial response before the first due date.		0.0 pts First Due Date Missed Did not meet First Due Date. An initial posting before the first due date is required for full credit.		2.0 pts
Second Due Date	2.0 pts Second Due Date Met Student posted two responses before the second due date.	1.0 pts Second Due Date Only one response was posted before the second due date. Two postings before the second due date are required for full credit.		0.0 pts Second Due Date Missed Did not post two responses before the second due date. Two postings before the second due date are required for full credit.	2.0 pts
Grammar and Punctuation	3.0 pts Outstanding All postings were grammatically correct with little or no punctuation errors.	2.0 pts Excellent Some grammatical errors or punctuation errors.	1.0 pt Capable Excessive grammatical or punctuation errors.	0 pts Needs Improvement Poorly written without regard to grammar or punctuation.	3.0 pts
Total: 13 Points

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