He just started college and his classes are online. A big part of his grade depends on his participation in message board discussions. At minimum he has to start one thread on the topic and respond to at least two other threads. Posts have to be out there by Wednesday, his responses have to be done by Sunday. Responses have to be thought out, you can’t post I agree/disagree or repeat what the OP said. You must add something to the thread.
This weeks chapter covered three topics, just call them A, B, and C. The posts on the message board are to be about Topic A. He has to write a paper on Topic B.
As of yesterday only 7 people had posted, one of those being my son. One more posted today. Of those other posts only one is about Topic A, the rest are about Topic B.
The one written about Topic A is so poorly written that he has no idea what to say, or at least anything that isn’t going to come off as rude. It is circular fluff as in The wheels on the bus go round and round. Going round and round is what the wheels on a bus do, that is what makes them wheels on a bus. If they didn’t go round and round then they wouldn’t be wheels on a bus. She’s good, she can write a whole paragraphs that don’t say anything. There is nothing there to work with.
If last week is any indication of how this works, there will be a rush from the remaining students to get their posts in by the Sunday deadline, even though the instructor has said not to do that twice already.
I suppose he can come up with something to say to the circular post. It’s hard for him though, his writing is very direct How should he handle the other posts? Should he respond in kind, even though that isn’t the assignment? Should he comment to their posts as though they were talking about the correct topic? Respond to what they posted and then switch to the correct topic? Wait until Sunday and hope that at least some of the posts are on topic?
He doesn’t want to come off as rude. He’s not the kind of person to say something like ‘I really like you viewpoint on Topic B but this is supposed to be about Topic A’. Maybe he should, he’d probably be doing his classmates a favor by getting them back on topic.
He works really hard and I hate to see him get a poor grade because his classmates aren’t holding up their end.
Minimum one thread started and minimum two threads replied to, correct? So nothing is stopping him from creating another thread on Topic A that might actually get replies, right? And what is stopping him from saying “I’m not sure what you’re saying. But my stance on the topic is…” in response to the generic thread starter? That’s how a person would react in real life, so I don’t foresee the professor marking that negatively.
I wouldn’t go overboard and look like a brown-nose but the professor would probably be glad to see more than the bare minimum so starting extra threads or making more replies is not a negative thing.
Ugh. Just wait until “group projects”. I used to get so mad about those. Why should my grade be dependent on what Sally and Bill are doing? Are Sally and Bill paying my tuition? No, no they are not. Is this a class on small group dynamics? No? Then why am I being graded on that.
What I did (ages ago) was identify the few other people who had their shit together, and we made it a point to work together for all that stuff.
Actually my mistake, he starts only one thread but he has to respond to at least two others and he has to lead his own thread. I agree he should do more if he can. He does have one response to his thread so that part is good, so far that is the norm,
The problem he is having is…
Let’s say the chapter is on Fairy Tales. Topic A is about The 3 Little Pigs. Topic B is about Pay-Tay and the Wind-Witch, Topic C is Cinderella.
The topic of the MB is The 3 Little Pigs.
He writes his piece on The 3 Little Pigs, posts it on the board and then reads the other threads to respond. Every other thread except for one is about Pay-Tay and the Wind-Witch. He went back and checked the assignment and he’s right, it’s supposed to be about The 3 Little Pigs. He asked me to check it, then I read the other threads.
He doesn’t know what to do.
I don’t know the answer either.
Should he respond to them and add his comments to Pay-Tay and the Wind-Witch which is not the correct topic. Should he comment that he likes their post but this is his view on * The 3 Little Pigs*? Should he comment on PTatWW and then make a comment on T3LP? Should he try to tie the two together?
I think discussing the wrong topic would get you a failing grade. How hard is it to read and follow the assignment? I can understand the discussion going further than the topic but it seems to me you should have to start there.
However, not saying anything at all is a failing grade as well.
I think it’s a little harder in an online class, all you have are names. He told me there are a few he likes to read, and some that he just skips over.
Some of them post like they are texting with friends, even though that has been brought up twice by the instructor that that will get you a failing grade.
The best way for him to handle this is to contact the professor and ask what he should do. (And, with respect, you as a parent should be staying out of this – at the college level, it is his education and his responsibility to problem-solve.)
This is true but he asked me what I thought. Email has already been sent.
I know there some professors on here though and would like to hear their thoughts.
While I have no advice to pass on, I think this is an appropriate thread in which to resurrect Doper Jurph’s brilliant commentary on workshare/groupthink in college. Perhaps your son may wish to print it off and keep it handy over the next few years -
From the professor’s point of view, they’ve only made rules about numbers of posts because he wants to encourage discussion. They will be applying the marking scheme based on the letter of the instructions + the expectations for students at that level. Posting early and often will make the professor want to give a good mark, so long as the requirements are technically met.
When I host online discussions, I expect my students to be respectful, constructive, and critical. I will also be observing the discussion, getting worried when no one is participating until the last minute.
Your son would look very good to me if he:
answered the response(s) in his own thread
answered the circular argument post (hard to explain without specifics, but I imagine the easiest way would be to find something generically nice to say, then ask a question that unwinds the circle.
answered one or more of the other threads (that way he meets the letter of the assignment)
I don’t see any problem in replying to the Topic A person.
Just start it with “It’s interesting that you mention the wheels because…” and then tack on anything he feels like saying about wheels. “… they’re made of rubber, which…” or “… they are a major environmental problem because…” or “… they’re manufactured by exploited slave labor in Indonesia, highlighting the need for…”
Sure it’s a total non-sequitur, but it’s a tactful way to change the subject and it’s not likely that anyone is going to feel anything but gratitude for him bailing the idiot out.
If he gets good enough at it, he can win Presidential debates. “I’m glad you asked about my position on the environment. I’m passionate about education for our children and plan to give disabled military veterans better health care.”
He’s asked which shows an attempt to meet the intent of the task and not just the specified posting requirements. Hopefully that gets him some guidance.
If not:
He knocked out his part of starting a thread. He might need to wait to reengage on the topic but as long as he pops in late he can fully meet that piece.
Somewhere in the on topic but jumbled thread there’s at least a couple of words. Hijack that. “I see you mentioned [one or two words] my thoughts on that are…” It probably has zero to do with the hot mess that is the OP but it’s meeting the intent of discussing the issue.
If there’s any tiny bit of commonaility between A, B, and C that forced them to be lumped together on the syllabus try and use that to hijack the thread. “I see you mentioned theme X in discussing B. That made me think of the broader theme Y.” Then make a post about both A and B in relation to the broad theme even if it’s a pretty blatant hijack.
If he can’t find commonality to hijack just reply intelligently to a topic B thread. He’s still meeting the letter of the task by replying to a thread and demonstrating thought about course related material. Then pay attention for a late thread start on topic to jump in on with an extra reply.
Thank you, that is what he did.
I read the circular post out loud and he got to laughing so hard at me tripping over the words that he stopped being frustrated and was able to write something.
Then he hit a road block in his own thread. I said it looked like a C&P that she was modifying for all her responses. He took the part that applied to his post and ignored the rest.
Another bit of advice - have him reach out to a few people who make intelligent comments this week. They can bemoan the quality of conversation, but more importantly, they can reach a pact between them to post something on Day 2 instead of waiting until 11:59pm the day its due to finally type something out. That will give them all something to respond to (the other people who care will figure out what the problem is by the end of the week and will be easy to get on board).
In my classes, there were a few of us that could have informed discussions (thank you SDMB for that training) all week long - usually exceeding the set expectations of the instructor/professor - which gave the whole class something to work from. That, in turn, created gratitude in the professor/instructor which paid off during the semester.
For this week, I’d say he should try to tie the two together. (“Did you notice the parallel between the witch’s changing herself into wind and the wolf’s blowing air, basically creating wind, as signs of evil, danger, and destruction” - or whatever) and going from there. Thereby writing about the actual assigned topic and following the directions about responding to the topic at hand.
I’d also say he should drop a note to the professor explaining what he did, why he did it, and how he should handle this problem for the next assignment if his classmates miss the boat again.
Lots of good advice here. I think your son will do fine.
As far as grades depending on fellow classmates, it has always been that way. The bell curve, etc.
I was an adjunct professor at a small college. The department head wanted the college to be known as tough. He wouldn’t allow more than 10% of the class to have an “A” as a final grade.