Purpose of the Discussion Board:

The purpose of the Discussion Board is to promote critical thinking about specific topics covered in the course. The board is an excellent opportunity to interact with others in the class.

The Discussion Board is for academic purposes only. No personal posts should be placed here. Save personal posts for individual emails. Be sure to post your comments before stated deadlines to receive credit for your work. No points can be earned for late posts.
 

There are two types of posts in this course. The first is an "Original Post" and the second is a "Reply Post."

All Original Posts are due no later than Wednesday at midnight each week.

 

All Reply Posts are due no later than Saturday at midnight each week.
 

Correct use of English grammar, spelling, and punctuation will be factored into your Discussion Board grades.

Your posts are reflections of you -- they reflect what you know, how you think, and what you have learned about course topics. Sloppy posts imply sloppy thinking and little effort. Carefully proofread all your comments before posting them to the board.

Consider writing posts first in a word processor like Microsoft Word of Apple Pages. You can use the processor to help you ensure correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. Once your comments are "clean," cut and paste your comments into a Discussion Board post.
 

You are expected to participate on the Discussion Board regularly.

You can receive up to 10 points for answering a question properly in an "original post."

 

You will also be required to reply to other students' posts. You can earn up to 10 points for two "reply posts." ("Reply posts" are worth 5 points each.)

 

Regardless of the number of "reply posts submitted," only two will be graded and receive points.

Discussion Board Groups

In order to address a wide variety of topics and keep the Discussion Board lively, each student has been placed into a group.

Groups have been arranged by using the first letter of each student's last name.

You will remain in your assigned group until the end of the semester. Take note of your group number .

Group A:

Last name begins with A, B, or C

For each Discussion Board submit:

One Original Post to Question A on the Discussion Board.

One Reply Post to a classmate's answer to Question B on the Discussion Board.
 

One Reply Post to a classmate's answer to Question C on the Discussion Board.

Group B:

Last name begins with D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, or L

For each Discussion Board submit:

One Original Post to Question B on the Discussion Board.

One Reply Post to a classmate's answer to Question A on the Discussion Board.
 

One Reply Post to a classmate's answer to Question C on the Discussion Board.

Group C:

Last name begins with M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, or Z.

For each Discussion Board submit:

One Original Post to Question C on the Discussion Board.

One Reply Post to a classmate's answer to Question A on the Discussion Board.
 

One Reply Post to a classmate's answer to Question B on the Discussion Board.

 

Discussion Board - Types of Posts and Guidelines

Original Posts

Original Posts are worth up to 10 points each. In order to receive full-credit for an Original Post it must contain/do the following:

a clear reference to the Discussion Board topic;

 

comments supported by a specific reference in the text or other credible source;
 

further the discussion topic by offering relevant questions or statements that encourage others to respond;

 

be thoughtful, reflective, and respectful of other students' postings;

 

few to no errors in spelling, grammar, logic, and organization;

 

be 200-400 words in length; and, be completed by the stated deadline (Wednesday no later than midnight).

 

 

Reply Posts

Reply Posts are worth 5 points each. Students are required to post at least 2 reply posts per week. Regardless of the number of reply posts, students will only receive credit on 2 posts. In order to receive full-credit for a Reply Post it must contain/do the following:

clearly references posts of other students;

 

have a clear connection to other student posts;

 

comments are supported by a reference from the text or other credible source;

 

comments are thoughtful, reflective, and respectful of other students' posting;

 

have few to no errors in spelling, grammar, logic and organization;

 

be at least 100 words in length; and, be completed by the stated deadline (no later than Sunday at midnight.)

 

Grading Rubric:

Points Possible

Grading Criteria

Original Post 9 - 10

Reply Post 4 - 5

Post has a clear reference to the Discussion Board topic.

Comments are supported by a specific reference in the text or other credible sources.

A reply post clearly references posts of other students.

A reply post has a clear connection to other student posts;

The post furthers the discussion topic by offering relevant questions or statements that encourage others to respond.

The post is thoughtful, reflective, and respectful of other students' postings.

There are few to no errors in spelling, grammar, logic, or organization.

The post meets the length requirement (200-400 words for an Original Post, at least 100 words for a Reply Post).

Original Post 6 - 8

Reply Post 2 - 3

The post references the topic, but is taken out of context making it difficult for readers to understand the author's comments.

The post's connection to other students' comments is vague. Comments are posted, but do not contain anything that encourages others to respond to them.

Comments and replies to other students are posted, but they are grouped/clustered together and do not refect active participation in discussion or insightful thought.

The post contains a few errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling or logic, but not enough to distort the meaning of the message.

The post meets the length requirement (200-400 words for an Original Post, at least 100 words for a Reply Post).

Original Post 0 - 5

Reply Post 0 - 1

The post does not express opinions or ideas clearly.

The post has no connection to the topic being discussed.

A reply is posted, but with minimum effort (e.g., posting short comments like "I agree with what Rebecca wrote.").

The post does not follow the assignment's directions.

The post contains a numerous errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling or logic.

There are so many errors that it is difficult for readers to understand what is written.

The post does not meet length requirements (200-400 words for an Original Post or at least 100 points for a Reply Post).