Discussion Board Participation and Critical Thinking in Soci…

Deepen your knowledge of the course texts and materials through rigorous intellectual exchanges with classmates through the sharing of unique insights, ideas, and perspectives. Apply concepts to your own experiences and observations. Share judgements and evaluations supported through logical argumentation, correct application of concepts, and presentation of evidence. Practice effective written communication. Discussion Board Guidelines The Discussion Board is not an informal chat room. Your answers and replies should be thoughtful, considerate, and use college-level language and grammar. I strongly recommend that you carefully compose your answers on a word processing program. Before posting your answers, check them for spelling and grammatical errors, then save them, and then copy and paste them to the Discussion Board. It is important that you save your document in your word processing program before you paste it to the discussion board. If, for whatever reason, the Discussion Board “eats” or “loses” your answer, you can just cut and paste it on the Board again if your answer has been saved on your computer. The three cardinal rules for Discussion Boards: Please remember that the cultural of mutual respect that is part of this course extends into the virtual classroom environment. Participation in these discussion boards is required. Participation alone is not enough; a thoughtful and meaningful approach in your posts is required. (Quality counts!) Your Original Contribution Post Each week, the instructor will write a prompt that will be available by Monday 9am. You are responsible for creating and submitting an original reply post (which becomes a new thread) in response in full sentence and paragraph form by Wednesday 11:59am. Write in paragraph form unless you are asked specifically for a list. The majority of your post must be your original words, thoughts, and ideas (very short quotations only). Be sure to identify all the sources of information that you refer to. Write at least 200 words (no more than 500). Recall the general objectives of the discussion board when composing your posting: 1) Deepen your knowledge of the course texts and materials through rigorous intellectual exchanges with classmates through the sharing of unique insights, ideas, and perspectives, 2) Apply concepts to your own experiences and observations, 3) Share judgements and evaluations supported through logical argumentation, correct application of concepts, and presentation of evidence, and 4) Practice effective written communication. Your post must be written on the discussion page, not attached as a document. Responses to the Postings of Your Classmates In addition to writing your own answer to the instructor prompt each week, you will compose a response to at least two other students posts by Friday 11:59pm. Your responses should be at least 100 words (no more than 250) and comply to expectations of discussion board post guidelines above. In your replies to other students you can: 1) Expand on or clarify a point made in the student post/answer. 2) Offer an additional argument to support a position taken in an answer 3) Suggest ways in which an idea could be more clearly expressed. 4) Identify passages where you think the writer misunderstood a concept, applied it incorrectly, or has an interpretation different than yours. 5) Disagree with a point or position made in an answer. 6) No I agree or +1 posts explain why you agree or disagree If you are disagreeing with the views of another student, please be constructive and respectful. You may criticize a position but not the author. Just writing (for example) “Your position on abortion stinks” will not do! State precisely the point you disagree with. (Make sure you have not misinterpreted the writer’s position.) Offer reasons why you think their view is incorrect and support your position by citing the text or other sources. A good answer or response will have some or all of the following features: There are virtually no errors in punctuation or spelling, grammar or usage. All parts of the question are completed answered. Sentences are smooth and carefully constructed. The words chosen are clear, accurate, and precise. Vague or ambiguous terms are clearly defined. The answer avoids triteness and unsupported generalizations. Use of supporting information is superior: the evidence clearly supports the positions and the evidence is sufficient and specific. The ideas reflect critical thinking and insight. There is some originality in the writer’s response. The content has depth and substance. The answer or response holds the reader’s interest. Student Responsibilities The purpose of the Discussion Board Assignments is for students to reflect thoughtfully and exchange ideas on the social, cultural, and historical concepts and topics covered in this course. As a class, you will benefit from this assignment only as much as you put into it. Last minute posts that are inaccurate, sloppy, unorganized, and unclear help no one. If you find that a post is unclear or inaccurate, it is your role to ask your classmate for further clarification or to point out the inaccuracy. If someone replies to your post with a question, you owe him or her the courtesy of a response. You are also responsible for posting your answers and replies on time. Each week I will read all the answers and replies posted to the Discussion Board. I will comment, where appropriate, on those posts or discussion threads that contain inaccuracies or where there seems to be some confusion. I will also point out those posts or discussions that I thought were particularly thoughtful, insightful, or well written. SUMMARY You are expected to post on at least 3 times. You should begin at least one thread and provide at least two posts in response to other participants threads. Posting should be a minimum of one short paragraph and a maximum of two paragraphs. Word totals for each post should be in the 200-500 words range for your original post and 100-250 for each of your two responses. Whether you agree or disagree explain why with supporting evidence and concepts from the readings or a related experience. Include a reference, link, or citation when appropriate. Be organized in your thoughts and ideas. Incorporate correlations with the assigned readings or topics. Stay on topic. Provide evidence of critical, college-level thinking and thoughtfulness in your responses or interactions. Avoid summarizing. Contribute to the learning community by being creative in your approaches to topics, being relevant in the presented viewpoints, and attempting to motivate the discussion. Be aware of grammar and sentence mechanics. Use proper etiquette. Remember that being respectful is critical.