ABSTRACT
Online discussions have become a staple in tertiary education, and particularly so in distance education. This is also the case in language-teacher education by distance (LTED), and there are now studies looking at the role of online discussions in LTED programs from a range of perspectives, citing such positive aspects as high-quality interaction, communal learning, and flexibility (e.g. Arnold & Ducate, 2006; Biesenbach-Lucas, 2003; Kamhi-Stein, 2000; Salleh, 2002). The ubiquity and importance of online discussions in LTED programs raises questions about their role in the curriculum, and their relation to other aspects of the curriculum such as content and objectives. Of particular relevance for this chapter are questions about the relation between online discussions and assessment.
First, should they be assessed as part of the formal grading of a program? Second, if discussions are to be assessed, then what exactly should we assess (e.g. control of subject matter, quality of argumentation, facilitation of learning among the group, amount of reading, task response, enthusiasm of participation, number of contributions)? Third, how should they be assessed?
(Hall & Knox, 2009a, p. 221)