Online Education: Elements of a good Discussion Post

An ever-increasing number of professors and nursing instructors have weekly discussion post requirements. This piece contains a handful of tips to assist students in creating well-rounded discussion posts that will dazzle most instructors. Nurse Forums Announcements Archive Article

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Online Education: Elements of a good Discussion Post

Online, hybrid, and distance-based coursework have become notable mainstays in today's technologically advancing society. Most students who have been enrolled in online courses have probably contended with weekly discussion post requirements because they are so ubiquitous in distance education. You are probably wondering, "What is the point of discussion posts, anyway?" Here are some explanations.

Discussion posts are intended to promote regular 'interaction' with others

Since the vast majority of online courses typically require no face-to-face meetings on campus, the weekly discussion post is one of the only mechanisms that facilitates mandatory interaction with one's classmates. Even though this form of interaction is purely virtual, it supposedly allows students to attain exposure to other peoples' ideas and perhaps learn from differing perspectives.

Discussion posts are supposed to reinforce key concepts

Discussion posts bestow opportunities upon distance learners to synthesize the material that they have learned, thereby reinforcing predominant concepts in a more effective manner. Synthesis, defined as written discussion that pulls upon one or more sources, is at the core essence of the weekly discussion post requirement. Moreover, well-constructed discussion posts allow professors to assess each student's grasp of the course material.

Now that you hopefully understand the two primary reasons that underlie the weekly discussion post requirement, here are some tips to aid in formulating ones that will most likely impress your instructors.

Always substantiate your discussion posts with in-text citations

In general, bolstering your 'statements' with in-text citations is superb practice. Since nursing is a health science, the in-text citations should always be in proper APA format. A myriad of wonderful websites are available if you need to learn how to formulate proper in-text citations utilizing APA formatting. A popular site is the Purdue Online Writing Lab. Another lesser-known website that contains good information on in-text citations is this page from Roane State Community College.

Cite from scholarly sources

Whenever possible, substantiate the information in your discussion posts with citations from scholarly sources such as textbooks and peer-reviewed journal articles because these sources are considered reputable. Avoid using blog posts, editorials, web-based tabloids and popular media websites such as Huffington Post, MSNBC or the Fox News Network because many of these sources can be overly opinionated. In addition, the articles on popular media websites sometimes disguise personal opinions as facts.

Use the discussion posts to practice your scholarly writing skills

One of the hallmarks of a college-educated person is solid writing skills. Generally, scholarly writing should incorporate a neutral voice as much as possible, which is reflected when discussion posts are written utilizing the third person voice. Furthermore, the use of a neutral voice requires deliberate minimization of overt emotion when writing discussion posts.

Adapt your discussion posts to the anticipated audience

Always be mindful that your instructor will be grading you on the content and style of your discussion post submissions. Thus, I advise you to refrain from creating heated posts that may alienate the instructor or your virtual 'classmates.' In other words, adapt your weekly posts to the known audience and keep your eye on the goal.

Read and use the grading rubric before posting

Many instructors utilize predetermined rubrics to grade discussion posts. If you are enrolled in a course that contains a specific rubric for discussion posts, I suggest you read it and become thoroughly familiar with it prior to posting. The rubric should provide you with a clear idea of the manner in which the discussion posts will be graded, as well as what your instructor seeks.

References

Dowell, J.A. (n.d.). Introduction to Syntheses. Retrieved from Synthesis Information

Mesa Community College. (n.d.). Writer's Style. Retrieved from Writing Style & Spoken vs. Written Voice

Stifler, B. (2008). The Purpose of the Discussions. Retrieved from The Purpose of the Discussion

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TheCommuter

About TheCommuter, BSN, RN

TheCommuter, BSN, RN, CRRN is a longtime physical rehabilitation nurse who has varied experiences upon which to draw for her articles. She was an LPN/LVN for more than four years prior to becoming a Registered Nurse.

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery.

I loathe the discussions in my online courses, but it's the price I pay for having the convenience of an online class. I always appreciate a rubric being used so that if points are taken away I can see why.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
AZBlueBell said:
I loathe the discussions in my online courses, but it's the price I pay for having the convenience of an online class.

I agree with you. My RN-to-BSN completion program was online and, luckily, the school had no discussion post requirements whatsoever.

Now I am enrolled in an online MSN degree program at a different school with courses that have regular discussion post requirements. It seems as if a handful of my virtual 'classmates' post the minimal amount of meaningless filler sentences to receive their points for the week.

AZBlueBell said:
I always appreciate a rubric being used so that if points are taken away I can see why.

Yep. My first discussion post of the semester received 8.5 out of 10 possible points. Due to the rubric and the instructor's feedback, I figured out that the 1.5 point deduction occurred due to a lack of APA in-text citations.

Once I started providing in-text citations and a list of references at the bottom, my discussion post grades have been perfect ever since.

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery.

Yes! I've had a couple classes that didn't require discussions but the rest of them have. I'm enrolled in a concurrent program with my local community college and a university. So I am taking classes that will go towards my BSN at the same time that I'm taking my nursing blocks with the community college (starting January). The class I'm taking with my university right now is the first one I've taken with them, and the discussion post requirement for that class is a lot more intense than any other I've ever taken. We have a minimum of seven discussion posts that we have to make each week. And we also have to reply to two people, four times a week. It's very difficult to make a substantial reply to someone when some people do the bare minimum in their posts. Thankfully I only have two weeks left in this class, and I find myself replying to the same people week after week because they give enough information in their posts for me to actually reply to. Yet other times, the discussion question really leaves no room for a "good" reply. If we are all defining the same word in our post, it's not much for discussion.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

UPDATE...the end of the semester is approaching and I still have two more discussion responses to make. However, I cannot make these discussion responses at the present time because none of my peers have posted their initial discussion posts.

December 9th at 11:59pm is the deadline for all discussion post submissions for the semester. I'll bet top dollar that most of my 'classmates' will post their initial discussion posts approximately 90 minutes before the deadline, leaving me and several other early birds scrambling to conjure up a substantive response.

I despise having my grade partly dependent upon 'classmates' who seem to lack conscientiousness and punctuality.

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery.
TheCommuter said:
UPDATE...the end of the semester is approaching and I still have two more discussion responses to make. However, I cannot make these discussion responses at the present time because none of my peers have posted their initial discussion posts.

December 9th at 11:59pm is the deadline for all discussion post submissions for the semester. I'll bet top dollar that most of my 'classmates' will post their initial discussion posts approximately 90 minutes before the deadline, leaving me and several other early birds scrambling to conjure up a substantive response.

I despise having my grade partly dependent upon 'classmates' who seem to lack conscientiousness and punctuality.

Oh, the joy!

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Thank you for this!

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Don't you just hate it when that happens? I've noticed a lot of my peers leave everything to that last minute. In such circumstances what I try to do is have a discussion with my instructor. I make sure I always post early and indirectly leave a message for my instructor. On most occasions the instructor responds with his/her suggest and I simply respond back.

That's one Tip I thought i'd share with the great people on this forum. Although this could also backfire when your instructor is also a slacker. haha

Frank

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Your idea is great! I would have never thought of engaging the course instructor for the purpose of completing the discussion post requirement.

Don't you just hate it when that happens? I've noticed a lot of my peers leave everything to that last minute. In such circumstances what I try to do is have a discussion with my instructor. I make sure I always post early and indirectly leave a message for my instructor. On most occasions the instructor responds with his/her suggest and I simply respond back.

That's one Tip I thought i'd share with the great people on this forum. Although this could also backfire when your instructor is also a slacker. haha

Frank

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I wonder then if maybe your peers in your grad classes are new to the online learning thing because it does take some getting used to! I thought the online discussions were annoying during my ASN, on top of everything else that was expected from us, but now I'm glad I had them. As I am also moving into the next phase of my education, I can honestly say that I'm comfortable and comfident about contributing to discussion posts. I also was a procrastinator in the beginning until I discovered how relaxing life is when I get a jump on the assignments. No more scrambling at the last minute!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Jennifer.pursell said:
I wonder then if maybe your peers in your grad classes are new to the online learning thing because it does take some getting used to!

Every single one of my peers has completed online coursework in the recent past per the introductions they posted at the beginning of the semester. The majority of them completed their BSN degrees online.

Nonetheless, although I completed my BSN online as well, this is my first experience with discussion posts and the BlackBoard course delivery platform. However, I was able to catch on and start creating substantive discussion posts within the first couple of weeks after the semester began.

Other than family emergencies or illness, there's no excuse for lackluster work at the graduate level.

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I have run into some of that myself. There are times that the whole"class" agrees on the topic. When that happens, I try to find opposing positions to try to keep interesting.

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