Applying an Integrated Model to Assess Online Discussions
This presentation reports on introducing an integrated model in assessing student online discussions.   Online discussion has been acknowledged as a valuable tool to enhance student learning through collaborative critical inquiry.  Although online discussion has the potential to benefit student academic learning, these benefits are not inherently guaranteed.  Student learning through online discussions did not always yield satisfactory results.  Assessment plays an important role in promoting the quality of online discussions.  Research shows that assessment has positive association with student performance in online discussions and must become an integrated component in student online discussions.  This presentation investigates an integrated approach in assessing student online discussions.  This integrated model includes three approaches: (1) assessment of learning; (2) assessment for learning; and (3) assessment as learning.  The three models are applied in assessing student online discussions in discussion-based online courses over the span of several semesters with good results.  This presentation will detail each model with illustrative examples.