The purpose of the discussion forum is to provide students a place to work together through the course material as if they were meeting in a classroom. I typically refrain from providing an explicit discussion prompt. Discussion prompts can facilitate conversation if the board is quiet. However, prompts narrow our focus to a specific issue within a larger amount of content. For that reason, I ask each student to use the discussion board as a place to offer insightful comments about a topic you found particularly interesting and/or challenging for the assigned modules.  I also encourage students to ask and answer insightful questions about the material. You are welcome to connect content to prior modules, however, you must comment on current material (i.e., the assigned modules) to earn full points. 

I expect that students will expand on the course readings and videos, versus providing a summary of what was learned. The discussion forums are not a place for strictly summarizing your readings. You may need to describe ideas presented but you should work to add critical thought to any summary you provide. Further, you should ground your ideas in theory/fact/policy especially as learned through the course. In many cases, beliefs are also important to discuss. Sometimes, our beliefs are a source of misinformation that we need to talk about and work through to improve our understanding and ability to help. Please work to find balance between summarizing content, presenting your views/interpretations/experiences, and being appropriately critical of the material.

There is a word-limit for original posts and replies so the forums do not become unruly and difficult to read. For posts, the limit is 300 words. For replies to other’s posts, there is a 150-word limit. Please reply to at least one student’s post, but you may reply to more. We want this to be a place for discussion as if we were meeting in-person. The forums open at 10 am the Wednesday before they are due. Your initial contributions are due by Friday at 11 pm but will remain open if you want to continue the conversation. I strongly encourage students to engage with each other through Sunday. If you have any further questions, look at the

CHAD 300 FAQ

.