Sherrilyn Magby

Julie,

We are not required to respond to every discussion post, however we are encouraged to respond to as many as possible. The problem, I find is that our discussion post don't have a minimum word count. Therefore, often times students just answer the question and they don't provide any "meat" within the discussion in which I can engage them. I often find myself asking the same question over and over again to different students.

I am thinking of requiring a word count for each discussion post. Hopefully, this will enable me to receive more input from the student and therefore, I am able to engage the student in follow up discussions.

Donna Valente

We respond to our students initial posts within 24 - 48 hours and we encourage them to use our e-mail for any additional questions. I think that a critical thinking model would be helpful.

Tina Stavredes

Hi Julie, at my institution we grade discussions and interactions. In addition, we have incorporated a critical thinking model to help learners understand how to engage in discussions. Tina