Chat Protocol, Chat Examples, and Chat Rubric

Basic Protocol

• Log on 5-10 minutes early. It is always polite to arrive to the chat room a few minutes early as you would in a regular classroom.

• Respond to each question posed by the moderator to the best of your ability. Your contributions to the chat are vital, and you provide a unique perspective that no one else can.

• Support the high academic quality of the discussion by saving your personal comments and conversations for before or after the chat.

• Refer to what you have learned in your weekly reading in your responses.

• Be aware that if you regularly arrive at the chats late (after 7PM) you will only receive partial credit. If you do not participate in a substantial way you will not receive full credit.

General Comments

Every quarter students are, for the first time, engaging in this online discussion process without really knowing what is expected of them. How would you know? Most of you have never engaged in learning in an online learning environment before!

Please know that we are very well aware that the online discussions or chats require a great amount of preparation, focus, concentration, and cognitive work on your part. That is why they are only an hour long! When you review your transcript from each week please note that if you did not read the material carefully it will be painfully obvious to everyone.

While this is a challenging task each week we know that you can perform well ===> if you read and prepare diligently.

We know that the chats move quickly. We know that it is hard to type quickly. We know that it is difficult to read the questions and respond quickly because some of us take longer than others to formulate answers in our heads. We know that chats are disconcerting in the beginning. We also know that if you are prepared they can be very engaging and enjoyable. Like any intellectual pursuit if you are not prepared it will be difficult and frustrating.

Please consider my comments below to better understand what we are looking for and then review your chat transcripts each week. Ask yourself whether you could have done better. The comments below are for your consideration and should be used to help you improve your chat performance.

What to Focus on During Online Discussions

1) In the the chat we are trying to understand how well you have assimilated the material you read in preparation for the discussion. The questions in the first part of the chats are designed to elicit specific references to your reading. When responding to our questions use the material you read as a reference. This does not mean look up the answer from a book sitting next to you during the discussion... you will not have time. Use specific references you remember or have made notes from your reading. This will let us know that you read and understood the material. It is perfectly fine to say 'within the reading the authors address...' Sometimes students use direct citations such as "Ormrod p. 210.' We are not looking for a citation within every answer but we are definitely looking for you to demonstrate in a number of instinces within each online discussion that you read and successfully understood the ideas presented in the reading.

Example

Question:
HOW ARE THESE CONSTRUCTIVIST IDEAS ABOUT LEARNING DIFFERENT FROM A BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE?
Response:
 Behaviorist are focused on channeling behavior rather than the study of ideas and concepts (Ormrod p. 203) so they seemingly are interested primarily with the "effect" of learning, whereas constructivists are more concerned with the process or journey of learning.
2) It is not enough to simply say you found something interesting. You will need to give us a more definitive idea why you found it interesting from the reading. It is not enough to answer the moderators questions by simply agreeing with someone else. We are looking for your ideas related to the material you interacted with during your week of preparation.

Example

Question:
HOW ARE THESE CONSTRUCTIVIST IDEAS ABOUT LEARNING DIFFERENT FROM A BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE?
Response:
I agree with Frank.

3) Sometimes student responses to questions do not address the question itself. Be sure to not make this mistake. When we review the transcripts if you did not consistently respond to the questions asked then you will not receive full credit.

Example

Question:
HOW ARE THESE CONSTRUCTIVIST IDEAS ABOUT LEARNING DIFFERENT FROM A BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE?
Response:
Social cognitive learning seemed to imply that a "right" answer is in some sense necessary in order for students to acquire feelings of competency or "self-efficacy" in the particular subject matter.

4) When we ask questions that are not obviously related directly to the material for the week we have an expectation that the responses you give will still be within context of that weeks reading. For instance, if we ask a question about a teacher's responsibility relative to understanding their students our goal is that you will answer this broad question using the context of the material you read for the week within your response. For instance if you were studying learning theory that week we are looking for you to talk about a teacher's responsibility related to learning theory not a reponse related to equity issues which we cover in the fifth week.
5) In the last part of the chat we tend to ask more general questions or engage you in a more open ended discussion. Again, we are looking for you to tie these discussions to your reading for the week.

Remember: We are looking for evidence that you have read and comprehended the material well!

Some Example Questions and Responses from Online Discussions

(These are actual examples from online discussions)

Online Discussion Question - Example 1
TONIGHT OUR TOPIC IS 'EFFECTIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES AND THE DESIGN OF INSTRUCTION.' WOULD EACH OF YOU START BY COMMENTING ON WHAT YOU FOUND INTERESTING IN THE READING. PLEASE BE SPECIFIC ABOUT AN ITEM YOU READ AND WHY YOU FOUND IT INTERESTING (NOT JUST THAT YOU FOUND IT INTERESTING!).

Excelent Response
"I found the text about the "Pygmalion in the Classroom" study by Rosenthal and Jacobson interesting because of how powerful the affect of expectations are. (p. 570) Expectations colors every action by the teacher, unless the teacher is very aware it."

(This response is concise but specific. It references the text. There is clear evidence that the student read the material and had good comprehension.)

Poor Response
"I liked the information about direct instruction."

(This is a poor response. It indicates that the student may have read the material but does not have evidence of an understanding of the idea. The student did not answer the question completely.)

Online Discussion Question - Example 2
SOME OF YOU MENTIONED VYGOTSKY'S THEORY OF SCAFFOLDING TONIGHT. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ABOUT THIS STATEMENT: IN EVERY LESSON IN EVERY CLASS THE TEACHER USES SCAFFOLDING. THE SUCCESS OF THE LESSON IS ALWAYS DEPENDENT ON THE SUCCESSFUL SCAFFOLDING TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED BY THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHER'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE STUDENT'S ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT....PLEASE GIVE ME A MORE REFINED RESPONSE THAN JUST AGREEMENT OR DISAGREEMENT...

Excelent Response
"A strong argument can be made that the statement is true. As Vygotsky (1978) notes: "instruction is only effective when it proceed ahead of development..." If learning proceeds ahead of development, then help, scaffolding is required. The more effective the scaffolding, the more effective the learning. Also, for scaffolding to be relevent, it must allow the child to achieve what is possible based on their current level of knowledge, hence the scaffolding must be added to the individual childs ZPD."

(This response references the theorist and the object or the question and supports the response with a pertinent quote from the reading. The student answers the question fully.)


Poor Response
"If a few aren't getting it, then the teacher could show another way to look at the problem, show the class how to solve it, and get their "help" and hopefully they can learn to do it on their own."

(This is a poor response. It does not give evidence that the student read the material. The student did not answer the question completely.)

Chat Assessment Rubric

Administrative Assessment

1) Does the respondent come to the chat.
2) Does the respondent arrive on time.
3) Does the respondent minimally participate.
4) Does the respondent stay on task.
5) Does the respondent attempt to change the topic of discussion.

Quantitative Assessment

1) What is the percentage of participation based on number of responses.
2) What is the percentage of participation based on number of words.
3) Average number of words per response.

Qualitative Assessment
1) Did the respondent answer the questions posed by the moderator.
2) Did the respondent's answer reflect what was presented in the reading assignment or was it opinion based.
3) Did the respondent's remarks demonstrate (Based on Bloom's Taxonomy):

1. Knowledge
Knowledge involves the recall of specific facts, concepts, or patterns. This is a level which a student understands something exists and can recall facts about the topic or subject but does not necessarily understand how or why they might use this knowledge.
Example: An education student may know about a particular educational theorist, such as Piaget, but not know the implications of the theory or how it might be used.

2. Comprehension
When a student can comprehend a concept or idea this represents the lowest level of understanding. It is a level which the student can communicate the concept or idea, either orally or in written form, and may be able to use the information in a simple way.
Example: An education student may know that Piaget developed a cognitive learning theory and be able to understand the implications.
It refers to a type of understanding or comprehension such that the individual knows what is being communicated and can make use of the material or seeing its fullest implications. When students are confronted with a communication, they are expected to know what is being communicated (orally or in written form) and be able to make some use of the material or ideas contained in it.

3. Application
The distinction between Comprehension and Application is that, the student must know the abstraction well enough that he can correctly demonstrate its use when asked to do so. Application, however, requires a step beyond this. Given a problem, the student must apply the concept without having to be shown how to use it in that situation.
Comprehension shows that the student understands how to use the theory correctly. Application indicates he/she understands how to use the theory correctly within a given context.

4. Analysis
The breakdown of a communication into its constituent elements or parts such that the relative hierarchy of ideas is made and/or the relations between the ideas expressed are made explicit.
Such analyses are intended to clarify the communication, to indicate how the communication is organized, and the way in which it manages to convey its effects, as well as its basis and arrangement.

5. Synthesis
The putting together of elements and parts so as to form a whole. This involves the process of working with pieces, parts, elements, etc. and arranging and combining them in such a way as to constitute a pattern or structure not clearly there before.

6. Evaluation
Judgements about the value of material and methods for given purposes. Quantitative and qualitative judgements about the extent to which material and methods satisfy criteria.