Participation Rubric
Criteria Exceeds expectations Expectations Does not meet expectations
Communication Participation in most or all discussions. A timely response is given to others and a consistent effort is made to engage with others’ ideas and experiences. The views of all participants are considered and valued. Tone of the message is positive and supportive and is grammatically correct with no spelling errors. Participation in most of the online discussions. Contributions to the discussions are given within the expected timeframe. The views of all participants are considered and valued. Tone of the message is positive and supportive. Posting has only one or two grammatical or spelling errors. Participation in few of the online discussions. Postings are not given in a timely manner and/or participant makes only one post without responding to others. Tone of the message may be negative and/or posting my have multiple grammatical or spelling errors.
Knowledge and skills Personal and practical experiences are evident through discussion. Examples are consistently shown and the process of learning is evident in the discussion. Practical experiences are discussed and relate to current discussion. Some examples are shown and make a positive contribution. Posting does not include any personal or practical examples or reference to session material.
Critique and debate Comments are insightful, thoughtful and demonstrate a developing understanding of the use technology to support meaningful learning. Posting offers critical analysis of key themes which deepens the conversation. Higher order thinking is evident (analysis, synthesis, evaluation). Comments demonstrate engagement with the material and an understanding of the discussion question and ideas referenced in the session material. Posting makes a positive contribution to the conversation. It is not evident that participant understands the discussion question and/or posting does not engage with key ideas or the perspectives of other participants.

Strengthening the discussion through responses

  1. Post your initial ideas early in the session and come back frequently to read and respond to colleagues’ ideas.
  2. When replying to a note, leave the “re:” portion of the subject line, but feel free to edit the subject line to express how you are extending the conversation. This way everyone can get a quick glance at the direction of the conversation within a thread without actually opening each posting.
  3. Make a habit of replying to more people than required in the assignments. As experienced online learners know, the goal is to advance the knowledge of the group and this comes from active conversation.