As you review the weekly assigned material, prepare to share with the class anything that you find surprising, particularly interesting, or with which you disagree. In other words, you are not assigned a pre-determined weekly discussion question. Instead, each member of the class is responsible for identifying what they would like to discuss each week in the material.
Students are not required to reply to anyone else for course credit, but you are encouraged to do so. I value the more meaningful conversations that emerge when students reply because they want to (rather than because they must).
Assignment Grading: Write at least one paragraph (at least four sentences) in your post. If you choose to quote from a source, that’s not your own original writing so your post should be longer than a minimum of four sentences. In other words, don’t just state that a particular reading, concept, or statement was interesting or surprising to you. Explain in some detail why it is interesting to you. You may connect it to other courses materials or personal experience in offering your thoughts.
Proofread your assignment before posting and use proper college writing (e.g., complete sentences with proper punctuation, avoid abbreviations and do not use phone texting-style communication).
To obtain credit for each discussion, it must be posted before the time and date specified on the course calendar. There will be no extensions or exceptions so I encourage you to avoid waiting to the last few hours to post your thoughts.
You are free to select anything within the required material and express any sincere thought or opinion (within the bounds of established by PSU’s Student Code of Conduct for student expression). Specific ideas or observations will not be evaluated, though opinions should be supported with logic and/or facts and should demonstrate understanding of the main points of the reading being discussed. Your postings will be evaluated based upon whether it is clear you are engaging with the assigned material for the correct week and are otherwise following the direction for length and content.
