Requirements for Discussion Board Facilitation

Allison McComb Updated by Allison McComb

Requirements for Discussion Board Facilitation

Most eCornell courses contain two required discussion boards. These boards deepen students' understanding of the course content and are part of the students' grades. Discussion boards serve as a vital component of eCornell's learning environment, focusing on three core goals:

  • Facilitating interaction among students and facilitators
  • Enhancing learning through expert insights
  • Assessing student comprehension

The primary objective underlying these goals is to cultivate meaningful student engagement both with course content and others.

Requirements for Facilitators

The following is expected of facilitators on the required discussion boards, not the Student Lounge:

  • Substantively respond to at least 50% of on-time discussion board submissions within one day of their original post. This should be a public reply in the discussion thread that affirms the student’s contribution and invites continued dialogue. Note that multiple student posts can be acknowledged at once by connecting related responses together. This may be done inside the discussion board or as a message to the class, inviting them to comment on their colleagues’ posts.
  • Within one day of a student posting, acknowledge their work in the gradebook. For typical eCornell short courses, a brief acknowledgment is sufficient (e.g., “Thanks for your thoughtful post, Jamie — you brought in a great real-world example of this week’s concept”). Time and effort is better invested in the discussion board itself rather than in the gradebook.
  • Provide responses that are substantive, going beyond simple acknowledgments or praise.
    • Substantive feedback includes specific references to student work, thoughtful follow-up questions, relevant professional experiences, and appropriate resources that align with course content.
    • When necessary, facilitators may also provide gentle clarification of course concepts.
    • This level of engagement helps distinguish eCornell from other online learning platforms and fulfills the brand promise of providing meaningful, interactive educational experiences.

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