Discussion - Rubric

Discussion with your classmates is a vital part of learning. In this course, you will participate in one class discussion in each module. These discussions are a required part of the course.

All online courses will have a "Q&A" discussion which is available for general course discussions (not chapter or subject specific). You can find the specific subject discussion topics in the modules on the Modules page.

Discussion Requirements

Your posts in the discussion area should exhibit careful thought and logical reasoning and provide evidence for your position. Each post should be at least one well-developed paragraph (approximately 4-6 sentences or more, unless otherwise indicated). Use correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. The discussions must be completed by the due dates specified on the assignment itself and also specified in the Course Calendar and on the Course Schedule in the Start Here Module.

Replying to Other Students’ Posts

You are also required to read and reply to other students, as indicated in each discussion assignment. Your replies should offer new substantiated ideas or thoughtful questions.

We encourage friendly debate and disagreement, but ask that it be courteous and respectful. Do not be afraid to speak your mind, but remember that yours is only one opinion.

Grading

Each discussion topic is worth 100 points. The number of points you earn is determined as follows.

Your Post – Criteria	Points
Logical reasoning and evidence	50
Spelling and grammar	10
Length of post, approximately 4-6 sentences or more	10
Replies to Classmate Posts – Criteria	Points
New substantiated ideas or thoughtful questions	20
Spelling and grammar	10
Total Points for Each Discussion Topic	100

Discussion Board Guidelines

These guidelines will help ensure that you have a good Discussion Board experience and make the best grade possible:

1. You may access my feedback on your discussion grade by clicking on "Grades" and then clicking the assignment.
2. In order to see other students' posts, you must first submit your initial post to each forum. This encourages each student to fully engage with the assignment and provide original thoughts while prohibiting students from merely rehashing what other students have already posted.
3. Copying text without proper documentation from any source, including the textbook or Power Point, is plagiarism, an academic felony (see course Syllabus for the policy on plagiarism). Therefore, please do NOT copy and paste information into the Discussion Board.
4. With that said, using short quotes to support your stance is fine. If you choose to use a short quote in your discussion post, use MLA formatting to document the quote.
5. Make certain replies to classmates are new thoughts. Saying "good job" and summarizing what a classmate has posted does not meet the discussion board qualifications for replies to classmates.
6. Make certain you do not repeat yourself in your posts.
7. The discussion forums will remain open until 4:00 a.m. after a 11:59 p.m. deadline. This means students will have a four hour segment of grace on every discussion assignment. However, after 4:00 a.m., the discussion forums will no longer dispaly.
8. Due to the interactive nature of the discussion board, there is no makeup work for discussion forums. The only exceptions to this rule will be the rare cases such as a documented tornado or flood, internet outage across the whole region, a student who has been in the hospital for the whole school week or has an illness that is severe enough to put the student in bed for the week. However the hospital stay or illness must be documented with a doctor's note. Simply having a cold or feeling bad is not a sufficient deterrent for not completing the discussion assignment. If you do fall ill, make certain you contact me early in the week. Waiting until the last day to report an illness often does not result in permission to make up a discussion board because the discussion board is open all week. Therefore, it is advisable to complete the discussion board forum early in the week and not wait until the last hour of the last day to finish, due to the fact that any emergency during the last few hours may result in missing the opportunity to post.

If you have any questions regarding these guidelines, please don't hesitate to contact me.

For More Information

For the due dates, see the Calendar link, the date on the assignment itself, or the Course Schedule in the Start Here Module.

For instructions on posting a discussion, see How Do I Reply to a Discussion in the Canvas Student Guide.