Discussion Analysis is an automated system that provides instructors with an overview of a students contributions to a discussion board based on several criteria.
It should not be used as a replacement for reading and reviewing student work, but it gives an overview and insight into both their individual performance, but also there performance relative to the class average.
Discussion Analysis is only available on graded discussion boards. It takes approximately 24 hours for the analysis to be completed on a student post.
Viewing Discussion Analysis
Navigate to your HuskyCT course
On the top navigation menu, click Gradebook
Click the Discussion Board you want to view analysis for
A new window will appear showing student submissions, click the student who you want to view analysis for
On the new window, you will see the posts made by student, and under the heading Discussion Analysis, you will see the Analysis for the particular student
Understanding Discussion Analysis
The Discussion Analysis feature does not factor in the actual topic of the Discussion or read the students work. It uses a set of words from dictionaries and linguistic standards to determine the metrics. None of the data is a replacement for reading and reviewing student posts, and should not be the sole determiner of a grade.
Substantive Posts
The number of student posts that contribute to the development of the discussion. These are posts that establish a position, make and support an argument, or ask a meaningful, and thoughtful question.
Sentence Complexity
This criteria looks at the sentences, words, and syllables used in the post, considering the frequency and complexity of words used. It is measured using the Flesch-Kincaid standard, and is the Flesch-Kincaid standard is used to approximate a grade level average. In other words, a person in that grade level would be expected to understand the reading.
Lexical Variation
This criteria is broken into two sections, first Content Word, and second, Functional Words. Content Words are words that carry meaning, and opinion in response to the prompt. A high level of Content Words indicates complex writing. Functional Words are words that form the structure of the student’s post. These words indicate strong grammar and form in writing.
Critical Thinking Level
This criteria measures critical thinking based on the use and frequency of specific words that are considered to indicate one or more of the following areas of critical thinking:
Argue a position
Include supporting data
Cite literature or experience
Evaluate
Summarize
Reference data
Offer a hypothesis
A score is then assess from -1 to 1 where, -1 indicates critical thinking below the class average, 0 is critical think that is at average, and 1 is critical thinking that is above average.
Word Variation
Measures the number of unique words as a percentage in a student submission.
For more information on using Discussion Analysis in Ultra Course View, contact Educational Technologies at edtech@uconn.edu or by phone at (860) 486-5052.