Weekly Discussion Participation Rubric

Explanation
Rubric for weekly discussions
Checklist for weekly discussions

Explanation

Much of the learning that takes place in this course results from your participation in the weekly online discussion. The online discussion is a chance to develop your ideas about geology, refine your thinking by sharing thoughts in an open discussion with the rest of the class. The online discussion evolves and takes in new information over the course of the week, and your knowledge will evolve and expand as you keep up with it. To keep up with the discussion in a productive and learning-rich way, compose your thoughts and research results and contribute them to the discussion several times over the course of the week.

If you don't want to read and abide by this whole web page, then it can be distilled down to its most important element, based on the results of previous times this class has been conducted:

Those students who start contributing to the weekly discussion during the first three days of the week include students who will go on to earn A and B grades for the course.

Students who do not take part in the discussions until later in the week will not end up earning an A or B grade,

for the course as a whole, not just for the weekly discussions.

Which group do you choose to be a part of?

Weekly Discussion Question Rubric
Exemplary	Adequate	Developing	Underdeveloped
Start participating during the first three days of the week. Include in your main message relevant information from the assigned reading. Include in your main messages relevant information from outside research you conducted (which can include copied images). Contribute to the discussion (post messages in it) during the middle part of the week (after the initial contributions during the first three days). Contribute to the discussion (post messages in it) during the last part of the week (after the contributions during the first three days and the middle part of the week). Respond to comments and questions that the discussion has generated. Respond to at least three other students' postings with more than a brief compliment. Meet the course writing standards at the adequate level, including citing references for any information you use from elsewhere and any images you copy into your messages.	Start participating during the first three days of the week. Contribute to the discussion (post messages in it) on more than two days during the week. Contribute to the discussion (post messages in it) on three or more different days of the week. Respond to comments and questions that the discussion has generated. Respond to at least two other students' postings with more than a brief compliment. Meet the course writing standards at the developing level, including citing references for any information you use from elsewhere and any images you copy into your messages.	Start participating during the first three days of the week. Contribute to the discussion (post messages in it) on more two days during the week. Add your thoughts to the discussion during both halves of the week. Respond to comments and questions that the discussion has generated. Respond to one other student's posting with more than a brief compliment. Meet the course writing standards at the developing level, including citing references for any information you use from elsewhere and any images you copy into your messages.	Contribute at least one substantial message to the discussion. Respond to one other student's posting with more than a brief compliment. Meet the course writing standards at the developing level, including citing references for any information you use from elsewhere.

Weekly Discussion Question Rubric

Exemplary

Adequate

Developing

Underdeveloped

Start participating during the first three days of the week.
Include in your main message relevant information from the assigned reading.
Include in your main messages relevant information from outside research you conducted (which can include copied images).
Contribute to the discussion (post messages in it) during the middle part of the week (after the initial contributions during the first three days).
Contribute to the discussion (post messages in it) during the last part of the week (after the contributions during the first three days and the middle part of the week).
Respond to comments and questions that the discussion has generated.
Respond to at least three other students' postings with more than a brief compliment.
Meet the course writing standards at the adequate level, including citing references for any information you use from elsewhere and any images you copy into your messages.

Start participating during the first three days of the week.
Contribute to the discussion (post messages in it) on more than two days during the week.
Contribute to the discussion (post messages in it) on three or more different days of the week.
Respond to comments and questions that the discussion has generated.
Respond to at least two other students' postings with more than a brief compliment.
Meet the course writing standards at the developing level, including citing references for any information you use from elsewhere and any images you copy into your messages.

Start participating during the first three days of the week.
Contribute to the discussion (post messages in it) on more two days during the week.
Add your thoughts to the discussion during both halves of the week.
Respond to comments and questions that the discussion has generated.
Respond to one other student's posting with more than a brief compliment.
Meet the course writing standards at the developing level, including citing references for any information you use from elsewhere and any images you copy into your messages.

Contribute at least one substantial message to the discussion.
Respond to one other student's posting with more than a brief compliment.
Meet the course writing standards at the developing level, including citing references for any information you use from elsewhere.

Checklist

For exemplary participation, you will:

Start participating during the first three days of the week.
Include in your main message relevant information from the assigned reading.
Include in your main message relevant information from outside research you conducted (which can include copied images).
Contribute to the discussion (post messages in it) on more than two days during the week, including at least once during the first three days, at least once on the middle day (plus or minus a day), and at least once during the last three days of the week.
Respond to comments and questions that the discussion has generated.
- For example, in the weekly discussions, the instructor may point out and correct some false ideas that students have posted, in which case you should not repeat the same wrong ideas in your own posting, or correct yourself if you already have.
- Another example of being responsive is to answer questions that you are asked about things you posted in the discussion.
Respond to at least three other students' postings with more than a brief compliment.
- If you give a compliment to another student, that is fine, but to make your comment substantial you need to follow the compliment with a statement of what specifically you liked in that student's posting, and what else it made you think of.
Meet course writing standards at least at the adequate level, including citing references for any information or images you use from elsewhere.

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Geology of the Pacific Northwest
Weekly Discussion Participation Rubric
updated: 8/20/19