Discussion Evaluation:

Assessing Your Discussion Contributions

When evaluating your own discussion contributions a student can ask: How did I contribute to the discussion? To what degree did I engage in the following three (A,B,C) kinds of behaviors?

A. Introduced substantive points

I.e., points that were clearly a result of thoughtful reading and thinking about the assigned texts. (A substantive point is one that became the focus for some group exploration; i.e., was more than an off-hand remark.)

Identified essential issues or questions the text is discussing

Pointed to the author's main hypotheses, claims, and supporting arguments and evidence

Pointed to important passages that needed to be understood

Explained the complexities faced in exploring this text

Described passages that were personally meaningful or connected to some shared experience

B. Deepened the discussion

I.e., tried to help the class think about individual contributions and discover new insights and understanding of assigned readings.

Helped others explore an idea; e.g., provided additional supportive quotes from the text; explained their relevance; summarized or paraphrased ideas; asked clarifying questions

Shared the thought process that was personally used in developing an idea

Paraphrased what the author means in a specific passage

Summarized the arguments being presented

Identified similarities and differences in positions being argued

Challenged an idea or presented alternate interpretation

Connected ideas from several participants or from other texts we've read

Formulated insightful questions which sparked group response

Introduced personal experiences which illuminated the text for others

C. Facilitated group exploration

I.e., focused on what the group together was accomplishing more than on their own individual performance.

Kept the group on task

Focused group back to the text

Summarized for the group what had been discussed

Brought closure to one point and made transition to new one

Paraphrased someone's comments, identified what you didn't understand, and/or formulated a specific question asking for clarification

Indicated support by responding to a person's ideas, or complimented them

Defused a tense moment with use of humor


Homepage Requirements Weekly Schedule Lectures Research Project Study Questions Discussion Qs Self Evaluations Business Stuff	Dr Tom Kerns North Seattle Community College Discussion Evaluation: Assessing Your Discussion Contributions (our definition of "to discuss") When evaluating your own discussion contributions a student can ask: How did I contribute to the discussion? To what degree did I engage in the following three (A,B,C) kinds of behaviors? A. Introduced substantive points I.e., points that were clearly a result of thoughtful reading and thinking about the assigned texts. (A substantive point is one that became the focus for some group exploration; i.e., was more than an off-hand remark.) Identified essential issues or questions the text is discussing Pointed to the author's main hypotheses, claims, and supporting arguments and evidence Pointed to important passages that needed to be understood Explained the complexities faced in exploring this text Described passages that were personally meaningful or connected to some shared experience B. Deepened the discussion I.e., tried to help the class think about individual contributions and discover new insights and understanding of assigned readings. Helped others explore an idea; e.g., provided additional supportive quotes from the text; explained their relevance; summarized or paraphrased ideas; asked clarifying questions Shared the thought process that was personally used in developing an idea Paraphrased what the author means in a specific passage Summarized the arguments being presented Identified similarities and differences in positions being argued Challenged an idea or presented alternate interpretation Connected ideas from several participants or from other texts we've read Formulated insightful questions which sparked group response Introduced personal experiences which illuminated the text for others C. Facilitated group exploration I.e., focused on what the group together was accomplishing more than on their own individual performance. Kept the group on task Focused group back to the text Summarized for the group what had been discussed Brought closure to one point and made transition to new one Paraphrased someone's comments, identified what you didn't understand, and/or formulated a specific question asking for clarification Indicated support by responding to a person's ideas, or complimented them Defused a tense moment with use of humor
Philosophy Homepage \| Plato \| Hebrews \| Plutarch \| Locke \| Berkeley \| Hume \| Kant \| Schopenhauer \| Swedenborg \| Buber \| Tolstoy other philosophers \| Study Questions \| Lectures \| Discussion Questions \| Weekly Schedule \| Self Evaluations \| Business Stuff
	Site by Gray’s Web Design This Introduction to Philosophy course is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available here. Open educational resources produced by other individuals or organizations that are embedded in these course materials may be licensed under a different open license. Please confirm the license status of these third-party resources before reusing them.