Please use any of the content on this website for your course!
Your students may not know how to participate in an asynchronous discussion! That is, they may not know what constitutes a “good” post, how to ask questions of their classmates, or how to answer their classmates’ questions. Provide them with some instruction. Following is a set of discussion principles and practices that you can impart to your students. You may also choose to compose a model post for students to use as a reference.
Build on shared knowledge: Build your arguments on the material from this course. Refer to lectures and readings, and use terminology that we have learned.
Contribute something new: Add facts, arguments, perspectives, or considerations to enrich the discussion.
Stay on topic: Make sure your posts are relevant to the discussion. Read the prompt a few times to make sure you understand it.
Provide evidence: If you make any factual claims, back them up. Evidence can take many forms. It might be empirical (something observed) or theoretical (something expected), academic or popular.
Acknowledge the limits of your knowledge: If you’re opining, speculating, or guessing wildly (all of which are acceptable in a post), say so.
Write clearly: Discussion forums are less formal than papers and exams, but your posts should be concise, properly capitalized and punctuated, and free of grammatical errors. (Tip: Read what you’ve written aloud before you post it.)
Acknowledge the author of the post you’re replying to at the beginning of your reply.
Confirm your understanding of your classmate’s original post by paraphrasing the main points as you understand them.
Ask questions, share your opinions, or describe how you relate to the post.
Build on your classmates’ ideas with additional information and insights.
Reply to posts that haven’t received any (or many) replies.
Reply to posts and questions addressed to you in a timely manner (one or two days).
Writing a Discussion Post - Grading - Community Standards
Teaching Students How to Post - Technical and Logistical Parameters