How to Grade Discussions on D2L
Discussions are very common assignments in online courses, and they can promote student engagement with course materials, other students, and the instructor. Many courses require weekly discussions, and students have to post an original submission and one or more responses to a classmate.
Instructors can also post comments and follow-up questions in the discussion thread, but they will need to use the D2L Discussion Grading Tool to review students' posts and assign a score. There are two pathways to the Discussion Grading Tool.
Process #1: Start in the D2L Gradebook
Begin in the "Enter Grades" area of the D2L Gradebook.
Locate the grade column for the specific discussion. (The discussion will need to be connected to the D2L Gradebook - see instructions for connecting discussions to the Gradebook.)
Click the dialogue bubble next to the student's score.
The Discussion Grading Tool will appear in a popup window.
Process #2: Start in the Discussions Area
From the D2L Discussions area, click the down-arrow next to the Discussion Topic, and select "Assess Topic."
In the discussion submissions area, click "Topic Score" below the student's name.
The Discussion Grading Tool will appear in a popup window.
Provide Comments and Assign a Score
The Discussion Grading Tool (shown below) provides the following tools and information:
The top left shows the student's name and the number of posts the student has made. ("Threads" are original posts, "replies" are responses to other students.)
The top right provides a space to assign a score.
If the discussion has a grading rubric, it will appear below the student's name. Instructors can select one of the levels, and they can also type comments in the feedback box. Rubrics can be holistic or analytic - the example shows a holistic rubric.
Below the rubric is a box for General Feedback, where the instructor can type comments and feedback about the discussion. These are private comments that will be seen only by the student. Instructors should use this space to make comments related to the grading, not the discussion area.
Near the bottom, the Grading Tool shows the full text of the student's posts. Original posts and responses are not labelled, though these are usually differentiated by the date, by the amount of content, and by the content itself.
Click "Publish" to submit the score to the Gradebook and to provide feedback to the student.
What to look for when grading a Discussion Topic
Criteria for grading a Discussion Topic often include the following:
Thoroughness and accuracy of information presented in response to a discussion prompt or question.
Clear, direct response - something like a thesis or paragraph topic sentence, instead of a rambling statement.
Use of supporting evidence, such as information from the textbook, journal article, or online source.
Use and accuracy of APA or MLA documentation.
Accuracy of writing - grammar, spelling, appropriate tone and style.
Presence of both original post and a response to another classmate.
Length of post.
On-time submission.
Discussions are also used best with open-ended questions, where students can present their own opinions or claims, research findings, or personal experiences, instead of fact-based questions (such as textbook definitions) where all students are likely to have the same response.
The D2L Discussion Grading Tool allows instructors to see all original posts and responses submitted by a student, assign a score, and provide feedback. The Grading Tool can also incorporate a rubric.
For more information and support, contact Online Learning.