Grade Discussions Using a Rubric or Without a Rubric

Grade Discussions Using a Rubric

Note: Students can see the completed rubric from the Discussions Tool, in Reading View only, and from the Grade Item in the Grades Tool.

Option 1: Grading Discussions from the Grades Tool

     1. Click the Grades link on the course navigation menu

     2. Click Enter Grades and find the Discussion you wish to grade. Students who have posted will have a speech bubble in the Discussion column. If you see a ruler icon instead of a speech bubble, this indicates the student has not participated. Click the speech bubble.

     3. A new window will pop up, showing the Rubric at the top and the students' post(s) at the bottom.

       4. To grade the Discussion, complete the Rubric by clicking the box that represents the level of proficiency the student has achieved in each criteria level. This will automatically update the score for the level. Each score will then be automatically calculated for the overall score.

Note: If you make manual adjustments to the points in a criteria level, the overall score may not update as desired or record automatically.

       5. IMPORTANT:After you are finished grading, don't forget to click the "Publish score on save"checkbox at the top, otherwise the grade will not be   visible to students.

       6. Enter Feedback as appropriate, then click Save and Close.

Option 2: Grading Discussions from the Discussions Tool

1. Click the Discussions link on the course navigation menu

   

2. From the Discussions List, click the action triangle to the right of the Discussion Topic you want to grade>Choose Assess Topic

      3. Click Topic Score under the user's name

          Note: If you click the Discussion Rubric, it will only show the rubric. Click Topic Score to see both the Grading Rubric AND the student thread.

      4. A new window will pop up, showing the Rubric at the top and the students' post(s) at the bottom.

5. To grade the Discussion, complete the Rubric by clicking the box that represents the level of proficiency the student has achieved in each criteria level. This will automatically update the score for the level. Each score will then be automatically calculated for the overall score.

Note: If you make manual adjustments to the points in a criteria level, the overall score may not update as desired or record automatically.

     6. IMPORTANT: After you are finished grading, don't forget to click the "Publish score on save"checkbox at the top, otherwise the grade will not be visible to students.

     7. Enter Feedback as appropriate, then click Save and Close.

Grade Discussions without a Rubric

1. Click the Discussions link on the course navigation menu.
2. From the Discussions List, click the action triangle to the right of the Discussion Topic you want to grade>Choose Assess Topic.
3. Click Topic Score under the user's name.
4. A new window will pop up. Click the grade area right next to Topic Score in the top right corner, and enter the student's points in the box.
5. Click the "Publish score on save" checkbox , enter Feedback as appropriate, and click Save and Close at the bottom of the window.

Click here to view a video tutorial on grading Discussions with a Rubric. [The video will open in a new window.]