Discussion Board Instructions

Discussion Board Objectives

• To engage learners in an introspective review of the material presented in the course;
• To require learners to apply the knowledge, concepts and skills presented in the course to "real life" situations that may confront them during their careers;
• To engage learners in a conversation with peers and instructors/tutors about practical applications of the concepts presented in the course

Directions

1. One or more Discussion Board Questions are posed in each module.
2. Follow the instructions accompanying one of the questions to prepare a response.
3. You are not limited to posting a response to only one of the Discussion Board Questions if you so wish, but you must advise your instructor of the posting that is to be marked.
4. It is suggested that you prepare your response as a text file (double spaced, 12 point type in a standard font such as Arial or Times Roman) prior to opening the Discussions Tool.
5. Clarity and brevity (consistent with completeness) are desireable characteristics in postings.
6. Log on to the Discussion Board and post your response.
7. Fellow learners and the instructor will read and respond to your postings
8. You must respond to the postings of at least three other students in each module.
9. You are expected to return to the Discussion Board at least three times after each posting to review and respond to the dialogue arising out of your posting.
10. You are encouraged to review and respond to other learners postings on a frequent basis throughout the course. This form of peer collaboration/teaching serves as an alternative to the person-to-person dialogue in classroom-based courses.

Marking Criteria

• Shows clear understanding of the unit learning
• Maintains a consistent purpose throughout the answer
• Develops ideas thoroughly, including the use of paraphrase, summary, and quotation as necessary
• Organizes the answer clearly and logically
• Writes in a style virtually free of errors, and showing sentence variety

• Shows a clear understanding of the unit learning
• Maintains a consistent purpose throughout the questions
• Develops ideas fairly thoroughly
• Organizes the answers clearly and logically; provides necessary transitions between major points
• Writes in a style which is generally free of errors and which shows some variety of sentence structure

Shows general understanding of the unit learning, although some points may not be clearly expressed
• Ideas are developed to some degree although reasoning and evidence may be limited
• Organization is evident, although there may be gaps in reasoning or weak transitions
• Makes occasional mechanical errors, but few major ones (i.e., lack of subject-verb agreement or incomplete sentences)

• Generally fails to comprehend the ideas in the unit learning
• Purpose is difficult to discern
• Shows little development of major points
• Organization of ideas seems haphazard and confusing