THE DISRUPTIVE PARTICIPANT
In an online
classroom there may be times when a student does not adhere to the guidelines
for professional conduct when communicating in the classroom. The guidelines for professional conduct
within the class discussion forum are listed in the Policy and Procedures of
the university and they have been reviewed in this class the first week of
classes. Please take the time to
review these as they may be a useful reference for this weeks
discussion.
By Wednesday: Read the
following exchange of a discussion between a disruptive student and two other
students. After reading the exchange you are to use class
resources, personal experience, and/or your own research to discuss
how the instructor should stop the behavior and how to redirect the discussion
back to the topic.
Your reply should be 3 to 4 paragraphs in length. You are to respond to at least two of your classmate’s posts.
Your reply should be 3 to 4 paragraphs in length. You are to respond to at least two of your classmate’s posts.
Click on the button below to read
the discussion.
Discussion:
Student A: (Posts
initial response to discussion)
Student B: I
found your experience with unprofessional posting by a classmate to be
interesting. I will remember the action
your instructor took to stop the behavior.
Disruptor: You
have to be kidding me, I don’t see anything wrong with the behavior of student
A’s classmate. He just was giving
his honest opinion of how stupid you were in the things you were writing. I don’t think it has changed much you
still are taking things a little too personal, toughen up, it’s rough out
there. And student B you are a
whiner too if you think that the instructor did the right thing.
Student A: It
is not necessary to get personal, I was just responding to the question the
best that I could.
Disruptor: Poor
thing, I suppose you will complain about my response too. I will try to make them more acceptable
to all the whiners in the class.
Discussion Rubric
Quality of Work
Submitted
|
A: Exemplary Work
A= 4.00; A- = 3.75
All of the previous, plus the
following:
|
B:
Average Work
B+ = 3.50; B = 3.00; B- = 2.75
|
C: Minimal Work
C+ = 2.50; C = 2.00;
C- = 1.75
|
F: Work Submitted but Unacceptable
F = 1.00
|
Contribution to the
Learning Community
|
The student’s contribution meets all assigned criteria and frequently
prompts further discussion of a topic.
The
student takes a leadership role in discussions.
Regularly contributes
to collaborative learning.
The
student demonstrates exemplary awareness of the community’s needs.
|
The
student’s contribution satisfactorily meets the assigned criteria for
contributions to the discussions.
The
student interacts frequently and encourages others in
the community.
The student demonstrates an
awareness of the community’s needs.
|
The
student’s contribution is minimal to the posting and response deadlines.
Occasionally,
the student makes an additional comment.
The
student makes minimal effort to become involved within the community.
|
The student’s contribution
does not meet the assigned criteria
The student does not
respond or responds late to postings.
The student does not make
an effort to participate in the
community as it develops.
|
Initial Posting:
Critical Analysis of Issues
**May include, but are not limited to, scholarly
articles, collegial discussions; information from conferences, in service,
faculty development, and/or meetings.
|
Demonstrates critical
thinking to analyze and relate key points.
Supports
content with required readings or
course materials, and/or use of
other creditable sources**
in addition to those materials.
|
Relates to the assigned
discussion topic with satisfactory evidence of critical thinking.
Summarizes and supports content using information from required readings and
course materials.
|
Summarizes
or restates discussion topic components with minimal evidence of critical
thinking skills.
Post
is off topic.
Post has minimal or no connection to
course materials.
|
Does not relate to the
assigned discussion topic.
Post does not summarize or
contain a connection to required readings or course materials..
|
Responses:
Quality of Learning for Colleagues and Self
|
Provide specific,
constructive, and supportive feedback to extend colleagues’ thinking.
Encourage continued and
deeper discussion.
Offer additional resources or experiences.
Demonstrate exemplary
evidence of personal learning as a result of interaction with colleagues.
|
Provide constructive and
supportive feedback to colleagues.
Refer to sources from
required readings and course materials.
Demonstrate
satisfactory evidence of personal
learning as a result of interaction with colleagues.
|
Provide
general feedback with minimal or no connection to required readings or course
materials.
Demonstrate minimal evidence of personal learning as a result of
interaction with colleagues.
|
Provide agreement without
substance or connection to required readings or course materials.
Demonstrate no evidence of personal learning as a result of
interaction with colleagues.
|
Expression
|
Provides clear,
concise opinions and ideas effectively written in Standard
Edited English.
Includes appropriate APA-formatted
citations and reference list for outside sources and direct quotes.
|
Provides clear opinions and
ideas written in Standard Edited English.
Includes satisfactory
APA-formatted citations and reference list for outside sources and direct
quotes.
|
Expression is unclear or
interrupted by errors.
Includes minimal or no APA-formatted
citations and reference list for outside sources and direct quotes.
|
Unacceptable written
expression.
May include outside sources
and direct quotes that lack appropriate citations.
|
Final Assignment Grade
|
A: Exemplary Work
|
B: Average Level Work
|
C: Minimal Work
|
F: Work Submitted but
Unacceptable
|
The above rubric
was edited from:
Walden University M.S. in Instructional Design and Technology
Program
J. Gum
ReplyDeleteI think we have all been involved in scenarios such as this. Individuals that are opinionated, yet lack the education in proper etiquette when dealing with online conversation. There is much to be learned about interpersonal communication and online communication both similar and dissimilar. In dealing with an online environment, there has to be awareness about personal communication due to the lack of personal queues such as facial gestures, body language, and cultural background.
In this scenario the instructor should take time to raise awareness about proper netiquette and respect for fellow students views and opinions. Perhaps a review of the schools policies and procedures for proper conduct would be in order. As well I believe the instructor has the duty to contact and communicate with the student on a personal level, either through phone, videoconference or email communication, and try to find out if there was extra meaning in the users response. Finding the truth in the matter often will lead to understanding, and a personal touch may help to alleviate any anxiety they may have about being in an online environment.
Most importantly there needs to be a setting of expectations for grammar, language, and etiquette when dealing in a distributed learning environment (Shorter, 2011). This is a vital piece of the environment as it sets the tone and guidelines for what will be allowed and what will not. It will also help to foster a more productive and interactive environment instead of a hostile one, which would degrade and lessen the impact the information being presented will have.
Shorter, C. (2011, June 2). Guidelines for effective online discussions [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://academictech.doit.wisc.edu/blogs/learnuw/guidelines-effective-online-discussions
In my experience in online classes I do not remember any more than a mention of he proper netiquette. In the online environment a disruptive student could cause serious damage to the learning environment and has the potential to hurt every student in the class while a person who is cheating is ultimately hurting only him or herself.
ReplyDeleteJulie thank you for your comments on the instructor being a larger presence in the discussion. We like to believe that even if the instructor does not make comments he/she is reading all he posts; in an environment such as he one described the instructor making a larger presence could deter the disruptive student.
ReplyDeleteYou example seems extreme but it gets you thinking as an instructor how important your presence and intervention would be to ensure that a proper learning environment is maintained and that students are not belittled or bullied by a disruptive student. If the disruptive student is left unchecked there will be less collaboration and the other students will be apprehensive to comment on anything for fear of what the disruptive student will say. Thanks for bringing to our attention the importance of the instructors presence and intervention in the online environment.
ReplyDeleteCarol,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you are making an effort to teach netiquette. I think that since we have made the shift to online environments that students seem to be more detached. Because of that detachment, they feel they can say whatever they wish to someone. Also, they don't understand how to communicate properly through writing because that is a lost art. This can create problems when the other person is reading their "note" because they don't understand the proper tone the writer is using. More and more we need to make our students aware of these important social rules. While they aren't written in stone nearly as much as the etiquette rules of the past, we need to make them aware to stop the bullying. Great post! :)
-Christin Wheeler-