Please use any of the content on this website for your course!
How big should a discussion forum be? Whole-class discussion forums, which can generate so many posts that they are hard to follow, can easily be divided into smaller groups. The size of the groups depends on your goals for intimacy and exposure, depth and breadth, or openness and containment.
A discussion forum with too many students can become overwhelming for your students, for you, and for your teaching assistants. Consider using groups for high-enrollment courses. Groups of 50 students “feel” very large. Groups of 100 or more feel unmanageable.
Persistent groups (whether they last for a few weeks or an entire term) can give students a chance to get to know a small number of their classmates well.
If there are too many students participating in a discussion, the number of posts can become overwhelming for both the students and the teaching team.
Sometimes groups can be too small. Too few students in a group can lead to insufficient student interactions and reduce discussion engagement. Make sure you size groups so that there is enough activity for students to remain engaged: At least five students per group.
Use this discussion post to reflect on your “affective response” (emotional response) to watching the last three films: "Three Little Pigs," "Mickey's Mellerdrammer," and/or "Broken Toys." What were you feeling as you were watching these shorts? Does experiencing these films complicate your feelings about Disney? If so, how? Based on what you’ve seen, who do you think the “intended audience” was for these films? And how do you feel about that?
Once you post, be sure to respond to at least one other student and add to their reflections, with compassion.
This is the ongoing discussion space that we will use for the entire quarter. There are approximately 25 students in each discussion group. If you have a question about the assignment, you can post it in the whole class discussion below. Otherwise, please join your assigned small group discussion to post your replies. Scroll down on the main discussion assignment page to see the topic for each week.
What to Expect in this Assignment
Each week I’ll post a short prompt related to the readings or our focus for the week, and ask you to weigh in and respond to the posts from your peers. I’ll engage with your posts throughout the week, but I’ll only grade this discussion at the end of the quarter to confirm you’ve completed the minimum number of posts and replies (see below) and adhered to the post and reply guidelines outlined below and in the rubric. This minimum should be easy to meet, so instead of focusing on your grade, I encourage you to set aside a little time each week to genuinely enjoy this chance to share your ideas while learning from the responses, insights, and questions of your peers!
Discussion Prompt: Connecting Coursework to Students’ Lives
First: Watch at least the first 20 minutes of American Aloha
Then: In small groups, discuss traditions from your own families and social groups (dance, food, holidays), and consider how your cultural practices create and sustain community.
You may write a reply in the submission box , or you can upload a short video response, no more than one minute in length. If you upload a video, you should compose your thoughts before you begin to record.
Write thoughtful and considered responses to at least two of your classmates' posts.
Discussion Prompt: Learning Pod Discussion with a Synchronous Meeting
In this week's meeting with your Learning Pod have a conversation to discuss the following:
Rebekah Nathan's research question for her book--what does she want to know?
How will she do her research (What's her methodology)?
To what extent do you think her quest will be successful? Why or why not?
What is a subculture?
Assign one person from your group to take notes about your discussion.
Have one group member post your answers to the question below. Click reply below, and paste your discussion notes for me to see.
Introductions - Large and Small Discussions - Open Forums - Peer Review & Critique
Group Projects & Study Groups - Video Discussions - Social Annotation