Discussion Board: Basic Requirements and Terminology
The information presented here is for your reference about the weekly Discussion Board expectations. It is not expected you memorize the following information, but it is expected that you have a basic understanding of the expectations and requirements listed below and that you use this as a guide to any questions you have about the weekly participation.
Important Note: These requirements are only a part of the larger picture for your weekly participation grades, please also review the other folders in the Discussion Board and Participation Information section (the folders include: Discussion Board Introduction, Discussion Board Scoring Breakdowns and Rubric, Discussion as Academic Discourse, and Discussion Board Samples).
The below information is to complement your weekly grades and feedback I will be sending to you, and to serve as a guide to the basic expectations I have for weekly participation.
Contents:
Expectations for above average weekly grades/scores
Note: All of the following discussion board categories are very important for receiving full credit each week.
1. Initial Questions = responding to the first questions posted by the instructor on Saturday of each week.
Important Note: Sometimes these initial questions will be posted inside the Discussion Board forum, sometimes they will be only set up as suggested topics to discuss in the Discussion Board description/instructions for that week. Most of the time, the students will be the leaders posting on issues/topics brought up in the lectures. I highly encourage students to address the lectures from their own viewpoints and experiences.
2. Response Postings = responding to other student postings.
3. New Threads = new postings created by students that directly address the lecture topics and/or instructor questions.
4. Reflection Postings = a posting at the end of the week where the student reflects on the week long discussion forum.
5. Additional Participation Requirements = some weeks will have other participation requirements that will affect your total weekly scores.
6. Posting Subject Title = it is expected that the student will post original subject titles that will assist in other students understanding what the subject matter of the posting is about. These titles need to be short but descriptive, understandable but attention grabbing (see more below).
Expectations for above average weekly grades/scores:
For a higher 'Discussion Board' grade you need to post early in the week. I look for anywhere from two to four posts, either New Threads or Response Postings, before Wednesday at midnight (11:59p.m.) for an A grade.
This does not mean that you need to get all of your postings in before Wednesday at midnight. In actuality, I expect students to be posting actively throughout the entire week. It is up to you to keep the discussion threads going.
After your first postings for the week make sure to post other new threads and respond to other students ’ posts throughout the week.
I expect that for an 'A' grade (10/9) the student has read the lecture materials by Wednesday of each week, and that their participation in the Discussion Board has begun by this time. This may mean that you might not have answered all the Initial Questions posted at the beginning of the week again I am not expecting you to have all the requirements (for an 'A' grade) completed by this time. What I am looking for you to have, at the least, is a basic and well thought out start to your weekly discussion.
Important Note: For some weeks will have additional participation requirements that are part of your total weekly score. One example is Week One's completion of the Home Page is part of your 10 participation points for the week. Other general examples include posting about non-Discussion Board assignments, student directed research projects that will be brought into the week's forum, and other projects to be determined as the term progresses. Make sure to note the individual instructions each week that will address the additional requirements.
REMEMBER: That it is not only the number (quantity) I am looking for but also a high level of thought and writing (QUALITY). See more about what is expected for high quality postings in the sections below.
This means that even though you follow the exact number of postings outlined for a certain grade you may not receive that grade if the postings are not well thought out. As such you could post 10 times in a week and receive a score of 6 or 7 if the postings are much too generalized and show very little (or no) evidence of reading the lecture presentations. On the other hand you could receive a score of 8 if you post only 4 times in a week but the postings are very detailed with direct references to the lecture topics and also include new insights.
Here's an example of how I would consider the quality of a posting:
Initial Question posed by instructor = Does the media model in place now promote or not promote stronger democratic discourse?
Student Answer Posting = Having only five companies control the media is bad for democracy. This does not allow for other opinions to be heard. We need to have more choices to view. I feel that this is a very bad thing and should be changed.
This answer is not considered high QUALITY (high quality = a weekly score of 10/9/8 points) and I consider it to be at a high 'D' or low 'C' level, and my reasoning for this lower score follows within these categories:
- Vague (What are the five companies? What is the history of corporate control of media? Why does this not allow for other opinions to be heard? What culture/society are we discussing here? What aspect of democracy is under discussion: voting, news information being accessible, personal rights, other?)
- Does not directly respond to the lecture topics in detail (Why do the five companies restrict viewpoints being heard? What has this to do with other topics presented in this lecture? What about connections to other lectures in the course?)
- Only repeats the question (What does discourse mean? What is democratic discourse? How does news and mass media connect to democracy? Is this different in other cultures? Why do you personally take this view, have you had experience with this topic in the past?)
- Does not back up the statements with any examples (What examples are there to illustrate changing the situation commented on? What examples can be cited of the five companies suppressing a certain opinion—as in cite an example you do further research on or already know about?)
As such:
- Even if you post multiple answers like this throughout the week your grade will end up being a 6 or 7.
- Better is to be posting a fewer number of postings that address the following in three to four well articulated paragraphs:
- Detailed summaries of the topics you are addressing. This means that I am able to gauge that you have read the entire lecture.
- For me to properly gauge this I will need to read that you are not only picking out key topics and defining them, but also making connections between multiple topics found in the lecture.
- Application of, and making connections between, the current week's topics and other lectures presented throughout the course.
- Presentation of your own personal knowledge, experience, and viewpoints. It is important in this course that you not only show a knowledge of what is stated in the lectures, but that you also offer your own perspective of the topics.
- This does not mean you are posting basic "I agree" or "I disagree" statements, but that you are backing up all your statements with detailed explanations with specific cited examples.
- Outside the lecture examples that are researched that help the entire class to understand better the lecture topics and any discussion points you are attempting to make.
And:
- It is additionally very important to frame one's discussion around the Learning Objectives and Reflection Framework that I have set up each week at the beginning of every lecture presentation. These objectives are very important to address throughout your postings, and also especially at the end of the week in order to receive full credit for your Reflection Postings. Ask yourself: How well did I meet these objectives? If you did not fully meet them, why not? Did you get extra insight to these learning objectives from other students during the Discussion Board?
- Subject titles are important in guiding the other readers of the Discussion Board to what you are writing about in your threads. Your subject titles need to be descriptive, creative, attention grabbing, and also serve as an introduction to your knowledge of the topics under discussion in your thread.
A nice approach is to pose a question as your subject title, for this sets up the topic and also introduces your central idea that you will be attempting to answer. It also gives your readers a common question they can answer (thus creating an interactive discourse with your audience).
So instead of a subject titles like the following:
"Question One"
"Ads and Women"
"History of Advertising and Women?"
"Media Monopoly"
"Video Games and Kids"Use subject titles something like:
"Visual Literacy and Jung: The Archtypes of Popular Culture"
"Ads Dual Edged Approach to Empowering/Disempowering Women"
"Confusion! Have ads really changed over time depicting women?"
"Is Bagdikian both right and wrong about the big five?"
"Do video games really promote violence and laziness in kids?
1. Initial Questions = the first questions posted by the instructor on Saturday of each week.
Important Note: Sometimes these initial questions will be posted inside the Discussion Board forum, sometimes they will be only set up as suggested topics to discuss in the Discussion Board description/instructions for that week. Most of the time, the students will be the leaders posting on issues/topics brought up in the lectures. I highly encourage students to address the lectures from their own viewpoints and experiences.
If the instructor posting is there at the beginning of the week it is a required thread to post to and the specific thread will be marked as Required.
All other postings by the instructor are not required but can count towards your Response Posting count.
2. Response Postings = responding to other student postings.
In order to keep the discussion lively and active throughout the entire week it is required that all students post in response to other student postings. These Response Postings can reply to New Threads and/or other Response Postings (see the Discussion Board Rubric folder for grade standards). As with your New Threads the Response postings are expected to be framed at a high level of critical thought (for details see the Discussion as Academic Discourse folder and again the Expectations for above average weekly grades/scores section above).
One note is my expectation IS NOT that you read every posting and post as many times during a week as you can. The expectation is focused on posting a limited number of well thought out responses every week.
Some recommendations for managing your reading and responding to the forums:
- Read as many as you can each week by skimming your unread postings (the bold number and titles in Blackboard).
- Respond to postings that initially peak your interest and also make note of postings you want to think about more and come back to later.
- Every week choose different students to respond to so that you make sure you are not responding to the same people every week.
- Figure out strategies for skimming and reading in detail postings. You will discover over time that you can tell if a posting has substance enough to read through.
- IMPORTANT: Even if the posting is short always look for questions that you may be able to answer and expand upon! A student might be genuinely interested in a topic but not sure where to begin to comment on it, so you can be an excellent resource to help flesh out ideas and arguments.
- If you can't read them all don't worry for that is the instructor's job, but always read as many as you can so that your Reflection Postings are robust and detailed.
3. New Threads = new postings created by students that directly address the lecture topics and/or instructor questions.
Every week it is expected that every student posts new and original threads on the various lecture topics. These postings are largely focused on being able to summarize and critique the materials presented by the instructor. It is important that these New Threads are robust and detailed. Remember that those reading the posts cannot read your thoughts and even though we are all addressing the same topics you need to write as for an audience who has not read the lectures. This goes beyond simply being "tested" on the topics but also better assists opening up the discussion to personalized perceptions towards the topics (and perception is a key theme for the entire course!).
4. Reflection Postings = a posting at the end of the week where the student reflects on the week long discussion forum.
The expectation is that every week you will post a "report" of the weekly discussion forum at the end of the week (Friday or Saturday). These reflections allow students to comment on the postings they read throughout the week and identify reoccurring ideas, ideas and thoughts they found as interesting, new ideas they learned from reading other student postings, etc. Again these postings are focused on two things: 1) showing a knowledge of the weekly topics and as such it is expected that one directly references the materials, and 2) personal perceptions and commentaries about the lecture topics and ideas brought up in the discussion board postings.
Important: The expectation is that students will be addressing their Reflection Postings to the Learning Objectives and Reflection Framework set up each week at the beginning of every lecture presentation. Be sure to read these objectives at the start, and also at the end, of the week in order to receive full credit for your Reflection Postings. Ask yourself: How well did I meet these objectives? If you did not fully meet them, why not? Did you get extra insight to these learning objectives from other students during the Discussion Board?
5. Additional Participation Requirements = some weeks will have other participation requirements that will affect your total weekly scores such as Homepage creation, outside research and posting reports, posting assignment artwork, and other to be determined requirements.
In general I see the breakdown of your Discussion Board grade as this:
(Note: These are rough estimates to give you a general idea of the weight/importance of quality and quantity in weekly Discussion Board participation.)
65% - 75% = MOST IMPORTANT is the QUALITY of the answers (as in how well the answer is thought out, how well the answer shows knowledge from the lectures, and how well the answer uses examples to back the statements). This applies for NEW THREADS, RESPONSE POSTINGS, and REFLECTION POSTINGS.
35% - 25% = LEAST IMPORTANT is the QUANTITY of the answers (as in how many postings one does, how often).
Please see the examples of past student posts that I consider of excellent quality available under the 'Course Information' section in the 'Discussion Board Samples' folder.
WEEKLY DEADLINE NOTE: The midnight deadline for each Saturday is the very last moment one can post without receiving an additional late penalty, or to get your last thoughts of the week posted for grading consideration.