Developing Online Assignments Agatha Beins Texas Woman’s University abeins@twu.edu

1. Developing Online Assignments Agatha Beins Texas Woman’s University abeins@twu.edu

2. Developing Online Assignments Two parts: Student Engagement Discussion Boards

3. Student-Centered Classroom What? De-centers the instructor Ethic of care Reflected in form and content

4. Student-Centered Classroom What? De-centers the instructor Ethic of care Reflected in form and content Why? Students become knowledge producers Students’ knowledge is validated Students’ life experiences are validated Students can give input that shapes the course form/content

5. Forms of Student Engagement Student – Instructor

6. Forms of Student Engagement Student – Instructor Student – Student

7. Forms of Student Engagement Student – Instructor Student – Student Student – Internet

8. Forms of Student Engagement Student – Instructor Student – Student Student – Internet Student – Course Management System

9. Forms of Student Engagement • Student – Instructor • Student – Student • Student – Internet • Student – Course Management System • Student – Content • Ideas • Course logistics

10. Discussion Board It often serves as: Heart of the class Primary site of student – student interaction Primary site of student – instructor interaction Significant site ofstudent learning It also provides rhythm and structure for the weekly unit and the semester

11. Discussion Board • Positives • Rich, vibrant, exciting, and rewarding site for student learning • Student – centered discussions • Students gain authority when creating discussion prompts • Personal experiences and “real world” connections

12. Discussion Board • Positives • Rich, vibrant, exciting, and rewarding site for student learning • Student – centered discussions • Students gain authority when creating discussion prompts • Personal experiences and “real world” connections • Challenges • Formality/informality (assessment) • Staying on topic • Teachers becoming “moderators” • Mediated communication

13. Discussion Prompts • A brief description of my assignment is below: • The purpose of this assignment is to • encourage you to read a set of texts more closely and deeply • practice developing open-ended questions that stimulate discussion • give you the chance to direct the discussion to a topic that interests you • help me better understand and evaluate your learning • A discussion prompt has three components: • background/context so that we can understand the question/prompt you’re posing • at least one reference to a specific part of a class reading, with page number(s), but you don’t need to include a full citation unless you cite a source that is not a class reading • a question (or two) or prompt to which we can respond • The prompt should be at least 200 words.

14. Discussion Prompt Schedule During the semester discussion prompts are provided by me, individual students, and students working in small groups. Individual

15. Discussion Prompt Schedule During the semester discussion prompts are provided by me, individual students, and students working in small groups. Individual Small Groups

16. Discussion Prompt Schedule The deadlines within the discussion board shape the schedule of my contributions as the instructor. Individual Instructor

17. Rubrics Why use them? Structure student participation Guide students in their work Clarify your expectations Clarify what you value about an activity Contextualize a student’s grade Connect to your student learning objectives What to consider when constructing them? What does your rubric say you’re measuring? What effects might the scale and type of measurement have on student contributions

18. Sample Rubrics http://www.udel.edu/janet/MARC2006/rubric.html http://www2.nau.edu/~d-elearn/support/tutorials/discrubrics/disc1.php http://etatmo.missouri.edu/toolbox/doconline/discussionrubric.php http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/online-discussion-boards-assessing-whats-important/

19. Discussion Board Rubric How I assess student contributions: • Your discussion board contributions will be assessed on a 5-point scale. Below I have outlined what I expect of you in your discussion posts and the qualities that will earn you full credit for participation. • Though discussion board postings, the student: • submits the minimum number of comments required and comments meet the minimum word counts • refers to specific parts of a reading (or readings) in the required comments • demonstrates an accurate understanding of the reading’s main idea/purpose or an attempt to understand the reading’s main idea/purpose • draws insightful and original connections between readings within the week’s reading set and between readings from different reading sets • responds to peers in a thoughtful, respectful, and insightful way • uses examples to support claims and opinions she presents or offers some self-reflection about the reasons for presenting claims and opinions • uses language and vocabulary that is appropriate for an academic conversation