Discussion Board Rubric

Your weekly postings will be assessed using the following guidelines. You are expected to make postings to the discussion board for each weekly unit. Your original postings addressing the weekly discussion questions should be made no later than 3:00PM each Wednesday. Final postings commenting and reflecting upon the posts of your peers should be made no later than 1:00PM each Friday -- late postings will not be given credit. If you post weekly and interact with your peers, you can expect full credit unless otherwise notified. As you can see, the following rubric assesses the quality of your postings and not the quantity. All online discussion postings should be typed or pasted directly into the discussion message window. In order for our online discussions to be beneficial it is important for each member of the class to participate during the weekly discussions. Your presence in the discussion board should be visible throughout the weekly discussion period for each unit. The purpose of our class discussion board is to develop a non-judgmental place where we can learn from each other and help each other out. Please remember I will enforce a strict zero bullying and no harassment policy. When posting replies here are a few methods to consider:

provide an alternative perspective share stories about your own experiences ask questions to further the discussion post additional resources (websites, books, articles) discuss why you agree or disagree with something point out something you learned from the post or something that stood out

Your participation in each online discussion will be evaluated based on the following rubric:

Unacceptable 1pt
Comments Comments were posted but did not address the assignment.

Needs Improvement 2pts

Comments address some of the assignment requirements. Comments are not well organized and show limited knowledge and evaluation of the topic. Only one substantial message was posted.

Average 3pts
Comments address most, but not all, of the assignment. Comments are reasonably organized and demonstrate adequate familiarity and analysis of the content. Multiple postings including some substantial content were posted, however, a limited number include errors or need additional supporting detail. Discussion postings respond to most postings of peers within a 48 hour period. AND/OR Replies were posted for at least 2 classmates.

Excellent 4pts
Comments thoroughly address all parts of the assignment. The comments are clearly and concisely stated, demonstrating that the content was appropriately reviewed and synthesized. Multiple postings are made offering substantial, well written contributions-opinions, observations, questions, experiences, critiques, suggestions, etc. Discussion postings are distributed throughout the unit time frame. Consistently responds to postings of peers within 24 hours. AND/OR Multiple replies were posted for at least 3 classmates or more. Discussion postings actively encourage further discussion by building on peers' responses including building arguments around a specific issue or asking a new related question or making a statement supported by personal experience or related research. Postings are appropriate, using proper language, cordiality, grammar, punctuation, etc.

Message Quality

Postings are not substantial, limited to "I agree" types of replies.

Timeliness

Discussion postings or contributions are only posted on the last day of the unit. AND/OR Replies were only posted for 1 classmate.

Discussion postings respond to most postings of peers several days after the initial discussion. AND/OR Replies were posted for at least 2 classmates. Discussion postings sometimes contribute to ongoing conversations as can be seen by replies to questions or comments or, asking related questions or, making a statement supported by any personal experience or related research. Postings include inappropriate references and may include several errors in grammar/structure.

Participation as a member of our learning community

Discussion postings do not contribute to ongoing conversations or respond to peers' postings. There is no evidence of replies to questions or comments or as new related questions or comments.

Discussion postings contribute to ongoing conversations as can be seen by replies to questions or comments or, asking related questions or, making a statement supported by any personal experience or related research.

Etiquette

Postings are not appropriate--poor grammar/structure, inappropriate slang/abbreviations, etc.

Posting are reasonably appropriate, but contain a few errors.

Source: Lisa A. Heaton, Elementary and Secondary Education, Graduate School of Education and Professional Development, Marshall University.