23 Discussions/Discussion Alternatives for Asynchronous Courses (External)

The following discussion guidelines were written by Dr. Vanessa Dennen, a professor of Instructional Systems and Learning Technologies at Florida State University.

Discussion Board Guidelines by Vanessa Dennen / vdennen@fsu.edu

Feel free to modify for personal use. Attribution and a linkback always appreciated.

Asynchronous Discussion Guidelines

Grading Overview:

Graded discussions will occur during XX weeks of the course. You may earn up to X discussion grade points per week, with your final discussion grade comprised of your weekly grades for the highest X weeks (X points multiplied by X weeks = XX points, total). In other words, I will discard your lowest X weekly discussion grades when calculating final grades. No makeups or late participation will be counted. You have X weeks to be absent from discussion or do as you wish. There is no need to send an excuse for the week you are absent. Just take the break when you need or want to. You are adult learners – you can self-regulate!

Timeline:

The discussion period for each week begins on Monday (12:00 am EST) and ends on Sunday (11:59 pm EST). Contributions made after the clock ticks over from Sunday into the next Monday do not count.

Expectations:

You are expected to be an active participant in each weekly discussion. You have a full week to participate and can choose the days/times when you participate. Barring a major emergency or illness, there should be no reason for you to be unable to participate.

You are expected to be a learner. Your discussion contributions are your opportunity to explore and build on the readings, thereby learning in the process. Posts should not be viewed as busywork, nor as summative assessments. Instead, discussion posts offer opportunities for practice and engagement. In the discussion, you get to practice using key terms and concepts related to the course through articulation and reflection. You are writing posts that will be read and responded to by others, which will challenge you to have something worthwhile to write about and to be clear and precise in your language and examples.

You are expected to engage in dialogue with your classmates throughout (i.e., on multiple occasions) the week. Do not jump on the discussion board on Sunday night at 10 pm, write four posts in 30 minutes, and expect full points for your participation. You also will not get full points for writing all of your posts during 1 hour on Wednesday morning. If I wanted you to do that, I would call the activity Message Posting rather than Discussion. You cannot be an effective dialogue partner if you jump in once, post a bunch of messages, and leave.

Dialogue requires an exchange between people. With that in mind, you should:

1. Remember that your audience for your posts is your class, not just the instructor.
2. Write messages that invite others to respond. Ask your classmates if they agree with you, if they have similar examples to share, or if they agree with your interpretation of a difficult concept.
3. Return to the discussion to see if anyone has responded to your earlier messages, and further the conversation.
4. Read your classmates’ posts with a plan to respond. Think about what you can ask them or share with them. Build on their examples, or even play devil’s advocate.

You are expected to write high quality posts. Participation is a matter of BOTH the number of posts written (having a presence) and the quality of posts written (having something worthwhile to contribute).

What constitutes high quality participation in an online discussion? For this class, I will be looking for posts that:

1. Relate to the course content. In your posts, you should use the concepts and terms we have been learning in class, and incorporate or respond to ideas from the learning materials.
2. Are substantive in content. While it is nice to give brief feedback like thanks and good idea to your classmates, and such messages are not discouraged. However, they do not count toward your graded contributions.
3. Invite dialogue. There is no pressure to be the authority on a topic, and you should not write mini-essays or monologues. In fact, those types of posts tend to reduce dialogue.
4. Are thoughtful and well-composed. Take the time to gather your thoughts before writing. Formal language is not required, but you should use complete sentences, and pay attention to spelling and grammar.
5. Are responsive either to the initial question or to another post. Each week you should be engaged in dialogue with others, not just replying to the initial discussion question. If everyone only responds to the initial question, the discussion will not go far.
6. Extend the conversation in meaningful ways. Do not just repeat what others have said, but make a new point, provide a new piece of evidence, or ask an insightful question. Remember that you do not have to extend the conversation by being an expert (you’re a learner here!). A timely and well-phrased question can be just as meaningful and valuable as a post that offers up knowledge!

It should go without saying, but I will say it anyway: Differences of opinion are fine, but you must treat everyone with respect at all times.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. 1. How many posts do I have to write each week?
   You should have at least XX posts meeting the above criteria each week.
2. 2. If I have the right number of posts, will I get full points?Not necessarily. When grading, I will not only at the number of posts you write, but also at the substance and timing of your posts.
3. 3. Is there an ideal word count for posts?
   No. Instead of word count, you should focus on being a substantive dialogue partner. You probably won’t be able to say anything of substance in a few words or a single sentence, although an insightful question can be quite substantive. At the same time, I’m not expecting you to write an essay. Most people write between 1-3 paragraphs per post, depending on the topic and how much they have to say.
4. 4. Will I lose points if I get something wrong in a post?

No. You’re a learner, and the discussion forum is a place to practice applying newly learned concepts and terms. If you don’t understand something, say so. Ask someone to help you out with an example. If your post contains a factual inaccuracy or demonstrates a limited perspective, someone may come in and offer a gentle correction or alternate point of view. However, those events will not affect your grade.

1. 5. There are five discussion topics posted this week. Do I have to respond to each one?
   No, you do not have to respond to every thread or topic that I start. You may concentrate on only one thread or topic if you like. You are an adult learner with personal interests and learning goals. As a result, you get some choice. You may start new threads or topics, too.
2. 6. Do I have to complete all of the week’s readings before participating in the discussion that week?
   No. You will want to refer to the readings in your posts, but it is acceptable to complete one of the readings and then jump in and discuss it while still tackling other readings.
3. 7. Do I need to formally cite the readings in my posts?

I do not expect you to provide formal citations with complete references for assigned readings on the discussion board. We are discussing, not writing papers. It will suffice to make informal reference to a reading (e.g., In the Smith chapter that we read this week … or Chen raised the issue of …). In other words, treat references in the written discussion just like you would in an in-class discussion. If you refer to readings or materials outside of those assigned to the class, you should provide full information so that someone else can locate the item to which you refer. If the item is online, providing a link to it will suffice.