Grading Criteria for Discussion Board Postings:
The highest potential points for each Discussion Board/Chat Question are 5-points. Please use these guidelines for all discussion board postings.
1. Each discussion posting is worth a possible 5 points.
2. The Discussion Posting consists of one initial posting by the due date of each electronic week [2 points], and one response each [an additional 2 days in the discussion week] to two other students [1 point each]. Students are to be on the discussion board a minimum of 3 days per week.
3. Postings on the discussion board build on the thoughts and ideas of other classmates, the discussion issues, course content, and critically analyzes questions. Your comments should be substantiated and substantive. Your initial posting requires 1 citation from a scholarly journal or textbook. Textbooks assigned to this course should not be used for your citations, however references found in the text and at the end of the chapter can be located and utilized for your discussion entry (unless otherwise specified).
4. Internet documents should not be used for your citations unless it comes from a scholarly journal online or a national professional / governmental organization.
5. The initial posting should build upon weekly course objectives and required readings. Reponses to classmates should be substantive comments in a “reply” to a colleague’s post or reply.
6. To gain full participation points for discussion requires an initial post with citation, 2 responses to classmates with citations, and presence on the discussion board a minimum of 3 days in the week. In addition, posting and responses should demonstrate new thoughts and ideas on the topic substantiating the entry. Failure to fully complete 2 weeks of discussion will result in a 5-point deduction to the final grade for the course. This 5-point deduction is in addition to the points deducted for the missing components for the week. Rationale: Not participating in a week’s discussion is like missing a live class; partial participation in discussion is like leaving class early.
7. Posts and discussion without scholarly citations will not receive full points.
8. APA format for discussion is focused on using proper citations and references. We are aware that versions of Word do not always allow the formatting [font, italicizing, and spacing, indentation] to be carried over to Blackboard.
9. Comments such as “I agree” are not appropriate responses.
10. Weekly posting will be grading using the following grading rubrics:
Online Discussion / Participation Rubric
Category | Satisfactory | Needs Improvement | Unsatisfactory | Score |
Timeliness | 1 point | 0.5 point | 0 | |
The main posts and two peer responses occur on or before the electronic week due dates. | The main post and one response occur on or before the electronic week due dates. | Absent of main post. | ||
Initial Posting | 2 points | 1 point | 0 | |
The initial posting is substantive, builds on the ideas from weekly objectives and required readings, and includes one citation from a professional journal and/or text. [Textbook assigned to the course is not used for citations]. | The initial posting is somewhat substantive, builds on the ideas from weekly objectives and required readings, and includes one citation from a professional journal and/or text [not from the course]. | The initial posting is anecdotal and does not build on the ideas from weekly objectives and required readings, nor does it include a citation from a professional journal and/or text. | ||
Response #1 | 1 point | 0.5 point | 0 | |
The response is a substantive interaction that builds on the ideas of others, delves deeper into the discussion question and course content and includes one citation from professional journals and/or texts. Textbook assigned is not used for citations [unless otherwise specified]. | The response is somewhat substantive and includes one citation from a professional journal and/or text [not from the course]. | The response is anecdotal and does not build on the ideas from weekly objectives and required readings, nor does it include a citation from a professional journal and/or text. | ||
Response #2 | 1 point | 0.5 point | 0 | |
The response is a substantive interaction that builds on the ideas of others, delves deeper into the discussion question and course content and includes one citation from professional journals and/or texts. Textbook assigned is not used for the citations. | The response is somewhat substantive and includes one citation from a professional journal and/or text [not from the course. | The response is anecdotal and does not build on the ideas from weekly objectives and required readings, nor does it include a citation from a professional journal and/or text. | ||
Subtotal | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | |
Scores | 2.6 -5 = Satisfactory | 0.5 - 2.5 = Needs improvement | 0 = unsatisfactory | |
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