DISCUSSIONS

This page explains how you will be graded on the

discussions. You can see exactly how the grading
rubric is setup by clicking on the grading criteria in
the upper right corner of the discussion page.
This information is in the syllabus
This information will be posted before each
discussion topic

DISCUSSIONS
A large component of this course is discussion current events in biology. The purpose
of the discussion is to apply your new understanding of biological concepts. So, you
should show how the topics you have studied relate to the current event. However, the
discussions dont have a right answer. You are being asked to grapple with complex
issues that we as a society have not solved yet so they cant possibly be that simple!
You should ask constant questions and your replies should focus on responding to your
peers questions using evidence from the readings. Your questions should follow from a
critical reading of the assignment (it becomes clear when you are glancing over the
readings and asking questions that are not genuine). Remember, the whole class is
depending on your participation!

Discussion rules
1. Your post should completely respond to the prompts and must add at least one or
two questions that clearly follow from your response. These questions would be
thoughts you had about the readings and are still unable to answer or questions
which raise new ideas about the topic. Be rigorous. Dont just accept all statements
in readings or posts as true.
2. When you post you must use references (either paraphrased or quoted) from the
reading to explain your responses as well as substantiate your questions. You
should cite these references. You are not being asked to simply give your opinion
you must also provide support for your stance.

3. The title of your post should be informative. Dont just call it stem cells or
something like that. Think about how you might summarize your post in a few
words.
4. When you respond to posts you must reference specific details/statements of the
writers post. That is, explain which part of the original post you are responding to
and quote it.
5. All comments must be respectful. Focus on the topic, not the individual. It is difficult
to read tone in writing, so always be polite. Avoid sarcasm it doesnt translate well.
If someone posts something that might be considered offensive, I will remove the
post and discuss it with the individual. If someone posts something that is obviously
meant to be offensive or represents an overt personal attack that individual will be
blocked from the course until the issue is resolved. We will be discussing sensitive
topics in this course so please be polite.
6. Avoid profanity and write your thoughts in clear, coherent sentences. Do not use
text message abbreviations.