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NOTE: what follows here is content I created as an Equity Scholar and use in my ENGL101 class. How is this different from a normal assignment? Notice the overall scope of what is included here. It’s not just the assignment, rubric, etc., but all the ways that students can connect to outside resources to complete their work, and more fully understand the assignment in question.

ENGL101 In-Class Discussion and Discussion Board Follow-up Background and Grading Rubric

Purpose: The purpose of ENGL101 discussion is to provide an initial set of opportunities to discuss relevant cultural issues of the day.  Within this framework, we will have the opportunity to connect to our own experiences through a shared reading as well as to the experiences of other students in class.  These discussions give us a chance to become a community of writers, while at the same time enhancing our academic writing skills. Additionally, these connected discussions will enhance your researching and critical thinking skills, develop thoughts and opinions on a variety of topics, make meaningful connections with your peers, and apply your new knowledge.

Discussion experiences will happen early in a workshop, and are part of a set of connected assignments that will eventually lead to an essay.  The in-class discussion and discussion board follow-up are the early part(s) of this process (parts 2 and 3). These initial steps are based on a shared reading and notes completed by you, the student (part 1). The initial discussion of the article will take place in class (where interactions are documented by your instructor), the second part will take part in Blackboard a short time later (think of it as a debrief of the article AND class discussion), and the third part includes follow-up posts to other students. The work we do as a class will become part of future assignments, namely journals and essays, where we will use the perspectives of other students as sources.

Core Learning Outcomes: CLOs #1 and #2 will apply directly to our shared work for In Class Discussion and Discussion Board Follow-up.

Core Learning Outcomes
  1. College-level communication skills. Specifically:
  • Produce effective and appropriate oral, written and visual information for a specific subject, discipline, purpose, audience, and context.
  • Interpret and synthesize information from oral, written and visual texts, and provide appropriate documentation.
  • Apply active listening skills.
  • Use technology to format papers and conduct research.
2. Critical thinking. Specifically:
  • Differentiate among facts, opinions, and inferences in the research and writing process.
  • Analyze information from various sources, including online resources.
  • Recognize and develop alternative perspectives or solutions in the research and writing process.
  • Evaluate alternatives to make sound judgments in the research and writing process.

Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning Outcomes:

In our discussions, we will have many opportunities to explore some challenging issues and increase our understanding of different perspectives. Our conversations may not always be easy; we sometimes will make mistakes in our speaking (writing) and listening (interpretation of what we read); sometimes we will need patience or courage or imagination or any number of qualities in combination to engage our texts, our classmates, and our own ideas and experiences ( Language borrowed from the following site: https://www.brown.edu/sheridan/teaching-learning-resources/inclusive-teaching/statements).  We will each bring something different to discussion about race, ethnicity, nationality, class/socioeconomic status, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, age, language, ability, religion, beliefs, values, and/or traditions. Through our shared discussion work, you will complete the following learning objectives:

  • Work collaboratively with classmates to foster community and learning.
  • Read, reflect, analyze, and respond to texts written by members of our learning community.
  • Reflect on how aspects of your identity (race, ethnicity, nationality, class/socioeconomic status, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, age, language, ability, religion, beliefs, values, and traditions) influence the way you see, experience, and understand course concepts.
  • Elaborate on areas of confusion in the course content and reflect on how you learn (CRT Outcomes borrowed from Julie Shattuck).

General In-Class and Discussion Board Guidelines

  • We will uphold a culture of mutual respect, encouraging and supporting one another.
  • We will tell our stories; the information shared will not be repeated outside of class, unless permission is granted by the teller.
  • We will engage in meaningful conversations by researching, discussing in class, and writing posts that are reflective of ourselves and reflective of what we are learning.

How our In-Class Discussions and Discussions Boards will work (process and due dates, length, and grading)

Process: Students will contribute to four (4) discussion experiences in ENGL101, as part of a workshop where the goal is to write an essay. The discussion “experience” is described below:

  • The initial discussion will take place in class after you have read the shared article and completed notes.
  • After our in-class discussion, students will post in the Blackboard discussion board. The post that you will make will usually mirror the questions provided in class. This will also give students a chance to expand and clarify from the initial discussion.
  • Finally, students will write follow-up posts in response to anything your classmates or professor have said on the discussion board. Engage with your classmates and professor in meaningful back-and-forth conversations by replying to each other’s posts throughout the week. You need to submit at least two total follow-up posts (comments/replies) by the end of the response period.
  • Due Dates: in-class discussions happen on Day 1 of a given week (Monday or WED), discussion board posts are due by day 2 (WED or THU by 11:59 PM), and follow up posts are due by Sunday at 11:59 PM)

Making mistakes is an important part of learning; when we learn, we tend to improve over time. To make space for mistakes and give room for improvement on the discussion board, I will leave comments and suggestions for you, which you can reply to, and I will post individualized feedback in the My Grades area in our Blackboard course (check the blue icon). I usually begin grading your discussion contributions within 48 hours of the follow-up posts due date.

FYI, I read ALL posts and respond as needed. In the beginning of the course, I respond to all students to welcome you to this course. As we progress, I step back so students can drive the discussion, and I don’t want to get in the way or limit seeing your good ideas.

Length: As a general guideline, aim to make each initial post a minimum of 1 paragraph (about 8-10 sentences) and a maximum of 3 paragraphs (about 20-25 sentences) in length. This aligns with the labor requirement listed on the specific assignment prompts, which is 20-30 minutes of reading, processing, and writing per post. This length is not a strict guideline, as the length of your posts will vary depending upon the depth of the topics discussed, and the time you spend in writing them.

About clarity: Proofread your posts before submitting them. Ensure that your message is clear, your post is organized, and your voice comes through. Use complete sentences and check for accurate spelling. You can use the ABC spell check button on the discussion board before submitting.

Follow up posts: When submitting follow-up posts, you may respond to anything your classmates and/or professor have said.

  • Aim to make each follow-up post a minimum of 3 sentences and a maximum of 10 sentences in length. The length of your posts will vary depending upon the depth of the topics discussed.
  • When replying to others, stimulate further conversation by delving deeper into the topic. You can add greater insight to a topic, share a unique perspective, thoughtfully explain why you agree or disagree with a classmate, answer one of your professor’s follow-up questions, respectfully point out and correct a classmate’s mistake/inaccuracy, share how you personally relate or do not relate to a topic, explain how you can apply a concept to your life or to your family/community, share a personal story, or bring something new (additional information) to a conversation.
  • Do further research. Explain your viewpoint. Be creative.

You may also subscribe to any forum on the Discussion Board to receive an email alert anytime a new post has been added to the forum. To subscribe to a forum, click on the name of the DB and then select the Subscribe button. You may unsubscribe from a forum at any time.

Grading: Participating in the Discussion is a required part of your overall grade, and I use the grading rubric on the last page of this document, which is also attached to each discussion board. Each discussion board is categorized as a MINOR assignment, and functions as a space to allow students to process their initial ideas about a subject. The specific grades awarded to students are Exceeds (E), Meets (M) Expectations, Partially Meets Expectations (PM), and Does Not Meets Expectations (DNM). These assessment markers (grades) are defined in more detail in our course Grading Contract.

When you miss a discussion assignment, I enter a “placeholder” score of “???” grade for it in Blackboard’s My Grades area. This “???” grade can be changed if you submit your post(s) within one week of the deadline; otherwise the assignment will count as a MISSED Minor assignment. The rubric for this assignment is found at the of this document.

Getting Help with the Discussion Board

Please feel free to ask any/all questions you need. Students sometimes think they are “interrupting” or “bothering” me. They are not…ever. My job is to help you succeed in ENGL 101, and I look forward to working with you. Your success is important to me, and I welcome all questions.

My contact information:

  • Email: bhiatt@frederick.edu – I always respond to all emails as soon as I can and definitely within 12-24 hours (usually much quicker than that).
  • Campus Phone Number: 301-846-2511 – when you leave a message, I get it transcribed into an email, so I can get your message when I’m not on campus
  • Campus Office: Student Center, Room H270
  • Drop in hour (M-TH) 10-11 AM in H270

For assistance using the Discussion Board:

For assistance with writing, proofreading, and citing sources:

For assistance with researching:

Library Research Guides:

Study Skills for Academic Success:

Assessment Rubric: the rubric listed here will be used to assess your work in the discussion portion of the workshop, which includes both in-class and Blackboard discussion board components.




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Composition and Literature Copyright © 2021 by hiattb; Corbin Bond; Ramon Jones; Bryan Hiatt; and Julia Showalter is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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