Discussion Evaluation:
Assessing Your Discussion Contributions

(our definition of "to discuss")

 

When evaluating your own discussion contributions a student can ask: How did I contribute to the discussion? To what degree did I engage in the following
three (A,B,C) kinds of behaviors?

A. Introduced substantive points

• I.e., points that were clearly a result of thoughtful reading and thinking about the assigned texts. (A substantive point is one that
  became the focus for some group exploration; i.e., was more than an off-hand remark.)
• Identified essential issues or questions the text is discussing
  Pointed to the author's main hypotheses, claims, and supporting arguments and evidence
• Pointed to important passages that needed to be understood
• Explained the complexities faced in exploring this text
• Described passages that were personally meaningful or connected to some shared experience
  
  B. Deepened the discussion
• I.e., tried to help the class think about individual contributions and discover new insights and understanding of assigned readings.
• Helped others explore an idea; e.g., provided additional supportive quotes from the text; explained their relevance; summarized or
• paraphrased ideas; asked clarifying questions
• Shared the thought process that was personally used in developing an idea
• Paraphrased what the author means in a specific passage
• Summarized the arguments being presented
• Identified similarities and differences in positions being argued
• Challenged an idea or presented alternate interpretation
• Connected ideas from several participants or from other texts we've read
• Formulated insightful questions which sparked group response
• Introduced personal experiences which illuminated the text for others
  
  C. Facilitated group exploration
• I.e., focused on what the group together was accomplishing more than on their own individual performance
• Kept the group on task
• Focused group back to the text
• Summarized for the group what had been discussed
• Brought closure to one point and made transition to new one
• Paraphrased someone's comments, identified what you didn't understand, and/or formulated a specific question asking for clarification
• Indicated support by responding to a person's ideas, or complimented them
• Defused a tense moment with use of humor