Criticism of other students work
I have encountered at least one student in every course who feels it is his or her responsibility to let a fellow student know how terrible their discussion post was. How would you recommend dealing with these types of students?
When a student’s response in the forum seem hostile, degrading, or negative I usually send the student an email pointing out the offence and reminding him/her of the class rules and policies. In addition, I post a general announcement that reminds students of the expectations, rules, and decorum. My recommendations for dealing with the extreme cases would be the same as previously mentioned, in addition to notifying the program manager and following the institution’s policies and procedures for such situations.
-Ruth-
Saudat,
The public posting to establish order is a very sound procedure. Very good. Thank you for sharing.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Usually what I have encountered is that a student might inform another of a certain instruction that was overlooked or not followed. In this case I don't see the need to respond publicly to those types of comments because it is understood that overall assessment is the instructors duty. Derogatory comments should be addressed however. A public post stating the appropriate etiquette for the discussion followed by a private message to the individual making him/her aware of the inappropriateness of the comment and a request for corrective action.
James,
Your approach to reading the post initially is definitely the place to start. The contacting the students individually to discuss their role (oversensitivity or not sensitive enough - it's usually some combination of the two) in the incident can be a learning moment for each student.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Yes, once in a while I get the same kind of student. It can be nettlesome, at least. Another problem I've had is one where a student makes a posting (responding to another student) and it is perceived as negative and hostile. In a few cases, I've read the postings only to find the comments were not at all hostile, but rather were just a little more negatively worded than necessary. Sometimes it comes to a question of whether a person says, "You could say this better...." or possibly says,"You are a fool, this is the dumbest thing I ever read...you must be a dope." OK, this latter case is exceedingly rare, but sometimes a person receiving criticism can be overly sensitive to suggestions of correction. In such cases, what do you recommend? Any ideas?
Traci,
My weekly review of the discussion board includes a statement about the supportive students. If I have an instigator like the one you describe, I send a private email that 'rewords' the post to state the indicated opinion (if it is appropriate) in a constructive and encouraging way. I try to model the desired behavior with this specific example. This seems to work well, in my classes.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
