Sample Rubric for Assessing Discussion Board Participation

Anne Hird, Ph.D.

The following is an excerpt from the syllabus of a distance learning course of Dr. Anne Hird's and is used for assessing discussion board participation.

Course reading and discussion: Students are expected to keep up with assigned course readings and Web resources. In conjunction with course reading, discussion topics will be posted on the Blackboard discussion board. Topics will include issues associated with reading and teaching young adult literature. Students are expected to contribute their thoughts on each topic by the posted due date. (Discussion flows best if students do not all leave this until the night before the due date.) Students may reply directly to the instructor’s question and/or to other participants’ comments on the topic. Discussion questions are designed to prompt your thinking on the topic; most questions have no “right” answer.

Your participation in these online discussions replaces face-to-face class meetings and should be taken just as seriously as traditional class attendance and participation. The most common reasons that students tend to lose points on the discussion are failure to include references to course reading and/or failure to participate in a thoughtful and reflective way. A message such as “Great idea! I totally agree,” for example, does not satisfy the discussion requirement.   (25%)