Discussion Guidelines – General Education
Discussion Guidelines – General Education
Purpose
Threaded discussions are designed to promote dialogue between faculty and students, and students and their peers. In the discussions, students will do the following:
- Demonstrate understanding of concepts for the week.
- Integrate scholarly resources.
- Engage in meaningful dialogue with classmates.
- Express opinions clearly and logically, in a professional manner.
Participation Requirements
- Post a minimum of 2 substantive posts in each graded discussion: 1 initial post and 1 follow-up post.
- These 2 posts must be on 2 separate days Monday through Sunday. (Initial posts made before Monday will not be graded.)
- The number of graded discussions may vary depending on the course.
- Week 1-7 discussions must be completed by end of week, Sunday, 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time (MT).
- Week 8 discussion must be completed by end of week, Saturday, 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time (MT).
| Discussion
Criteria |
Outstanding or higher level of performance | Very good or high level of performance | Competent or satisfactory level of performance | Poor or failing or unsatisfactory level of performance |
| Initial Post Content | Addresses all aspects of the initial discussion question(s), applying experiences, knowledge, and understanding regarding all weekly concepts. | Addresses most aspects of the initial discussion question(s), applying experiences, knowledge, and understanding of most of the weekly concepts | Addresses some aspects of the initial discussion question(s), applying experiences, knowledge, and understanding of some of the weekly concepts. | Minimally addresses the initial discussion question(s) or does not address the initial question(s). |
| Initial Post
Evidence & Sources |
Integrates evidence to support discussion from assigned readings** OR online lessons, AND at least one outside scholarly source.*** Sources are credited.* | Integrates evidence to support discussion from assigned readings** OR online lessons. Sources are credited.* | Integrates evidence to support discussion only from an outside source with no mention of assigned reading** or lesson. Sources are credited.* | Does not integrate any evidence.
|
| Follow-Up Post | Response furthers the dialogue by providing more information and clarification, thereby adding much depth to the discussion. | Response furthers the dialogue by adding some depth to the discussion. | Response does not further the dialogue significantly; adds little depth to the discussion. | Does not respond to another student or instructor. |
| Professional Communication | Presents information using clear and concise language in an organized manner (minimal errors in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation). | Presents information in an organized manner (few errors in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation). | Presents information using understandable language but is somewhat disorganized (some errors in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation). | Presents information that is not clear, logical, professional or organized to the point that the reader has difficulty understanding the message (numerous errors in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and/or punctuation). |
| Frequency of Responses | Posts in the discussion on two different days. | Posts fewer than two different days OR does not participate at all. |
Notes
*Credited means stating where the information came from (specific article, text, or lesson). Examples: our text discusses…., The information from our lesson states…, Smith (2010) claimed that…, Mary Manners (personal communication, November 2017)…
**Assigned readings are those listed on the syllabus or assignments page as required reading. This may include text readings, required articles, or required websites.
***Scholarly source – per APA Guidelines, only scholarly sources should be used in assignments. These include peer-reviewed publications, government reports, or sources written by a professional or scholar in the field. Wikipedia, Wikis, .com websites or blogs should not be used as anyone can add information to these sites. For the discussions, reputable internet sources such as websites by government agencies (.gov) and respected organizations (.org) can be counted as scholarly sources. Outside sources do not include assigned required readings.
Score: A zero is the lowest score a student can be assigned.
