Transcript
Discussion Posting Protocol and Parent Meeting/Small Group Discussion Guidelines
The sections of this course rely upon participations in the other sections. You must raise your Virtual Child on time to be eligible to earn points for your Discussion Posts because your discussions rely on your role as a parent of your Virtual Child. Not participating substantially in either of these assignments result in now earning points for participation in the other.
Discussion Posting Protocol -
Our Parent Meetings start in Module 2 Topic 3 – Physical Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood in the Discussion Groups section of HuskyCT.
Parent Meeting Discussions in Discussion 1 participation is required on the two days it is open (Days 3 and 4) and on all three days that each of the remaining discussion are open - Discussions 2 (Days 6, 7 and 8 until 10 AM), 3 (Days 9, 10 and 11 until 10 AM) and 4 (Days 11, 12 and 13 until 10 AM). The Discussions end on Day 4, 8, 11 and 13 at 10 AM. None of the required participation days fall on a weekend and no posts on the weekend count as a required post.
You will only have access to the discussion group of which you are a member. Membership in the groups is randomly chosen by HuskyCT. You will be in the same group for all four discussions.
The first meeting is about the issues we must consider before becoming a parent. Parent Meetings 2 - 4 will pose a different problem relating to parenting. When you are engaging in each Parent Meeting you should be thinking about your virtual child, your readings about the developmental stages and issues for this age child and what would be best for him or her.
The expectations of your participation in these discussions is as follows: You will
1. post in on each of the days the discussion is open with a substantive, interactive post. In the Winter Intersession, the second day for Discussion #1 is begins at midnight and ends at 10 AM on the 2nd day of the Discussion. For Discussions 2, 3, and 4, the third day of the discussion begins at midnight and ends at 10 AM on the 3rd day of the Discussion. This should include supportive statements from the text, research and lectures. You may include life experiences but you must relate these to the text and lectures as well. Doing some research on your own on the specific topic may help you to form your opinion. Please share the information that helped you to form your opinion in your posts.
2. click on the discussion name and post your responses within the discussion. DO NOT start a thread on the Parent Meeting Forum Home page. Posts outside the discussion will not be counted as part of the discussion.
3. use your posts to discuss your ideas and the ideas of your group mates. Be respectful of your group mates' opinions and ideas.
Two important notes about participation:
1. Posts to the discussion after the discussion is closed will not be counted as having taken part in the discussion.
2. Your participation in these discussions is worth up to 25 points per discussion. Your grade for the Parent Meetings/Small Group Discussions is a cumulative grade. Your grade after the first Parent Meeting/Small Group Discussion will show up as X/100 because all the Parent Meetings/Small Group Discussions are cumulatively worth 100 points. After the second, third and fourth Parent Meetings/Small Group Discussions, your grade for each will be added to the grade there. For example: if you got full points for each Parent Meetings/Small Group Discussion your grade will look like this:
After Parent Meetings/Small Group Discussion #1 - up to 25/100
After Parent Meetings/Small Group Discussion #2 - up to 50/100
After Parent Meetings/Small Group Discussion #3 - up to 75/100
After Parent Meetings/Small Group Discussion #4 - up to 100/100
Parent Meeting/Small Group Discussion Guidelines
One of the advantages of taking your course online is that you may be able to engage in online discussions with your instructor and fellow students. The intention of the course discussions is to encourage lively, informative exchanges about course-related topics that increase your knowledge of those topics, but it is up to you to make this happen.
Here are some general guidelines for participating in our Parent Meetings (the online discussions in this course):
Do the appropriate preparation, such as reading and raising your Virtual Child, before you join the discussion.
Your original post is an expression of your perspectives on the question posed. This post should come in on the first day of the discussion.
Before you respond to the posts of others, read the posts carefully and give yourself time to really consider the ideas of the author of the post.
Read the instructor’s posts so that you can keep up with the path of the discussion. The instructor may ask follow-up questions, post additional information or answer questions posed by your classmates that may be helpful to your reflection on the topic.
Do more than state agreement or disagreement. Justify and support your opinion. The most persuasive opinions are supported by evidence, examples, reasons, and facts. If you disagree with something, say why. If you really like something that you've read, let people know what makes you think that way.
Keep your comments fairly brief. A paragraph or two is plenty unless you are posting something that by nature has to be longer.
Check your post before you send it. Pay attention to your spelling and grammar, and be sure your post makes the points you want to make in a clear and concise way. Remember, your posts are meant to be read and commented upon by other students and the instructor.
Help move the discussion along. When contributing to a discussion, read other people's comments first. Introduce new ideas, but also build on what others have said ("Piggy-back" on other people's ideas).
Keep up with the discussion. After you have made your original post on day one of the discussion, you should be returning to discussion each day of its course to engage with the ideas of your classmates and to respond to their interactions with your ideas.
The discussion should be a very important part of your learning experience in this course. Allow yourself to be “in the place of not knowing”. Socrates said, “I myself know nothing, except just a little, enough to extract an argument from another man who is wise and to receive it fairly.” Really contemplate the points of view of your classmates. Does someone's comment make you think twice about your view?
Share your experience with your fellow students. You may be able to offer advice or example from your own life experiences including things you may have learned from other readings, other, courses, other people.
Respect others' ideas and opinions. Feel free to disagree, but express your disagreement in a respectful manner. Disrespectful communication is poor communication and not acceptable.
