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FAQ: FEEDBACK???
Posted Summer III, 2014
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Message from student: "I just wanted to know if I would get feedback from you indicating if we have done our general discussions posted correctly. Now I read another's email where you stated that you will not let us know if we posted correctly. But my question is if you can at least let us know if we posted something right."
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Comment :
No, I am not going to send feedback messages to students if they have "posted something right". (There will be some limited feedback after the first discussion session -- but all students in class are (simply put) expected to on their own be able to count to 4 -- the four messages required for a grade in each topic.)
You appear to be 'reading too much' into the grading of these very simple discussion assignments.
Feedback is not needed, because there is no subjective grading involved. You need to be 'self-confident' that you have correctly followed the simple minimum completely objective requirements, as presented in the Grading Criteria:
(1) Minimum 4, spell-checked, DIFFERENT messages posted, at least one created message minimum 100 words. All students can count to 4, and all students have access a computer spell-checker that also has a word counter that can count to 100...
If you post ten or more messages it doesn't matter if some are identical (sometimes that is effective if you wish to make a point). However, if you only post four messages in each topic during the whole discussion period, or 8 for the "excellence points" in the Town Hall Meeting, then they must be DIFFERENT messages -- NOT identical copy and paste from an earlier message you wrote. Class discussions require interaction with replies, and a "generic" copy and paste message does not qualify as a "reply to a specific person" -- it is not interacting (it is just posting for a grade). For the minimum grading criteria, identical -- or almost identical -- messages (whole or in part) will only count as ONE (1) message.
(2) An educated opinion (or several) based on your readings (reading assignment or online research) must be given in the message posted. Except for maybe the Animal Treatment Discussion (a slightly different discussion topic not so much based on facts, as on emotions and common sense), in the created minimum 100 word post, the opinion given must be SUPPORTED with the source to what you based your opinion on.
What is "educated" can be discussed, but as have been repeated a multitude of times in the online instructions, you are NOT graded on the opinion you post. You are graded on if you post 4 MESSAGES IN EACH TOPIC following the minimum requirements (so simple that no feedback is necessary).
Personally I don't think subjective grading is fair -- so I don't use it. In these discussions students are allowed to post whatever "science ignorant" opinion they have, as long as they fulfill the SIMPLE minimum posting requirements. However, "a splendor that daze the mind and dumb the tongue", must be supported with a source -- mom told me, is not a good source in the climate discussion, unless mom is a climatologist.)
I have seen some comments online on teacher's web pages about online class discussions -- some teachers apparently have more than 24 hours available to subjectively grade every student post. However, I only have 24 hours to my disposal -- so I don't grade subjectively... And it is not the idea with these discussions...
The idea with these class discussions is that students will participate and while doing so will -- hopefully -- soak up some EDUCATED (science/biology) knowledge about the topics...
I hope this answers your questions? Sorry if it is not the feedback you were hoping for. Oh, and when participating, don't forget to have fun...
Dr. Nilsson (Comment posted Summer III, 2014.)
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