OK I will give an example.
I recently taught an online course that dealt with television as literature. As part of one discussion unit, students were given 5-6 discussion prompts similar to these two:
Click here to go the [adult swim] video library. Select an episode and/or clip to analyze. Use the terms and concepts you learned about in chapter eleven. Be sure to indicate which video you chose so that other students can find it and join the conversation.
Click here to go the Film Chest Vintage Cartoon archive. Select an episode and/or clip to analyze. Use the terms and concepts you learned about in chapter eleven. Be sure to indicate which video you chose so that other students can find it and join the conversation.
The result? Spirited and intelligent debate with
hyperlinks embedded as evidence to support arguments about everthing from South Park to Betty Boop.
Can you see how this type of discussion simply
could not be replicated in the "real" classroom as easily? The students have to take time to review clips and formulate their arguments. Other students can see what they are referring to with the click of a button. THEY direct the discussion, whereas if I were to replicate this in real classroom, I would likely select the clips that we would all watch together.
In a class like this, I count discussion as 40% of the overall grade. These are the criteria established in the syllabus:
GRADING PARTICIPATION/DISCUSSION FORUMS
To earn an “A” for participation you must… Create posts that raise original, complex ideas about the text(s) and go beyond more obvious, traditional interpretations
Create posts that use many short quotes and other appropriate details from the text/video(s) to adeptly illustrate these ideas
Post to EVERY forum and leave no doubt in my mind that you carefully read EVERY assigned textbook chapter and/or viewed all required material
Log in multiple times per week to engage in active, meaningful dialogue with other students in the Discussion Forums
Address multiple discussion questions and write a total of at least 600 words in EACH full class discussion unit and 300 words for each serial episode in your small group
Create posts that contain virtually no errors in spelling or grammar
To earn a “B” for participation you must… Create posts that clearly grasp of traditional interpretations of the texts
Create posts that use many short quotes and other appropriate details from the text/video(s) to adeptly illustrate these ideas
Post to EVERY forum and leave no doubt in my mind that you carefully read EVERY assigned textbook chapter and/or literary work
Log in multiple times per week to engage in active, meaningful dialogue with other students in the Discussion Forums
Address multiple discussion questions and write a total of at least 600 words in EACH full class discussion unit and 300 words for each serial episode in your small group
Create posts that contain no more than a few errors in spelling or grammar
To earn a “C” for participation you must… Create posts that usually demonstrate a grasp of traditional interpretations of the texts
Create posts that use some short quotes and other appropriate details from the text/video(s) in an attempt to illustrate these ideas
Post to EVERY forum
Log in at least once per week to engage in dialogue with other students in the Discussion Forums
Address multiple discussion questions and write a total of at least 400 words in EACH full class discussion unit and 200 words for each serial episode in your small group
Create posts without spelling or grammar issues that interfere with meaning
To earn a “D” for participation you may… Create posts that occasionally demonstrate a grasp of traditional interpretations of the texts
Create posts that only sometimes use short quotes and other details from the text/video(s)
Not post to EVERY forum
Rarely engage in discussion with other students in the Discussion Forums; log in only once a week or less
Write fewer than 400 words in each full class discussion unit or fewer than 200 words per serial episode
Create posts with spelling or grammar issues that begin to interfere with meaning
To earn an “F” for participation you may… Create posts that rarely demonstrate a grasp of traditional interpretations of the texts
Create posts that rarely or never short quotes and other details from the text/video(s)
Not post to EVERY forum
Rarely or never engage in discussion with other students in the Discussion Forums; log in only once a week or less
Not approach a minimum of 400 words in each full class discussion unit or 200 words per serial episode
Create posts with spelling or grammar issues that seriously interfere with meaning
Assuming my students are reasonably motivated (some are, some aren't, and this naturally varies from section to section), this WORKS. The grading system establishes "concrete" criteria while still allowing me to assign a subjective grade to students' discussion participation.
And of course, I have to facilitate discussion, deciding when to get involved and when to back off. Just as in the "real" classroom, this requires somewhat intangible skills to direct the class energy in a productive, educational direction.
