The following will discuss professional communication as found in course postings and responses. After you review the material, you will complete an activity that will allow you to apply your understanding and skills.

The objectives of this learning activity are:

· To identify key elements of academic writing necessary to respond to courseroom discussion questions.

· To explain quality expectations for posted responses to other learners or faculty.

· To compose a scholarly discussion response.

· To evaluate the quality of a courseroom discussion response.

How to Answer Courseroom Discussion Questions

The first step to responding to a discussion question is:

· Read the discussion question carefully, and understand what the question requires.

Often, learners fail to read the question carefully and therefore fail to respond fully to the question. Unfortunately, this happens too often on the comprehensive exam, where it can cost precious points. One objective in answering discussion questions is to practice the art of good psychological writing, which always answers a question. Here is a simple rule of thumb for all psychological writing:

· DO answer all parts of the question.

· DO NOT answer anything that was not asked.

You’ll notice that we said, “for all psychological writing.” That is because all good writing done by psychologists:

· Answers a question.

· Argues a thesis.

· Or solves a problem.

So the first step in responding to your discussion questions is to read each question carefully. The second step shows you how analyze the discussion question. The second step is based on the fact that most discussion questions will have both:

· A content issue

· A level of critical analysis issue.

You should always identify both issues quite clearly. Do not start writing — a discussion post, your final paper, a comprehensive examination question, or some part of your dissertation—until you are certain you grasp what:

· Is being asked (the content issue)?

· What level of critical analysis is required?

You probably are well aware that instructors will evaluate both of these elements; thus, it is important to spend the time to ensure that each paragraph within your answer provides both content and analysis.

Content Issues

1. In your discussion postings, analyze the question to ensure that you have identified all the required content issues. Many questions have more than one content issue. Remember: Questions with multiple content issues are intentional. By analyzing a topic on multiple levels, you are deepening your overall knowledge of the field while strengthening your critical thinking skills.

2. When you are working on the content issue(s), always discuss relevant research and theory in your discussion answers. High-quality academic and scholarly writing does not provide mere opinion or personal perspectives. All positions require support with evidence from existing research and theory found in published works.

3. Content means more than simple summaries. Give only enough summary to create a context for your analysis and evaluations. Graduate-level writing is always about the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, discussed in the next section.

Level of Critical Analysis

Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom & Krathwohl, 1956): Benjamin Bloom and a group of other psychologists developed this hierarchical classification of how humans acquire knowledge. Despite the fact that Bloom’s taxonomy has been around for quite some time, it is still a valuable theoretical model to work with. Simply stated, as one moves up the learning pyramid, the level of learning becomes more sophisticated. The levels of Bloom’s, currently in common use, are:

· Level 1 – Remembering.

· Level 2 – Understanding.

· Level 3 – Applying.

· Level 4 – Analyzing.

· Level 5 – Evaluating.

· Level 6 – Creating.

To accomplish the goal of addressing the critical analysis issue in writing your posts, work with the terms in Bloom’s taxonomy. These terms will help you meet the competencies for Track 1.

Course discussion questions often ask for more than one level of critical thinking.

Your selection of relevant concepts from the research and theory related to the content issue demonstrates your comprehension and understanding: the lowest two levels of critical thinking in Bloom’s taxonomy (Bloom & Krathwohl, 1956).

Examples:

Example: A question might ask, “Describe the main elements of Bowlby’s attachment theory.” This key word “describe” captures the comprehension and understanding levels of critical thinking about the issue.

Many questions require analysis, Bloom’s mid-level critical thinking.

Example: The question may ask you to “analyze the construct of insecure attachment in Bowlby’s formulation of his theory.” This asks for more sophisticated critical thinking in which you discuss the elements that go into defining or operationalizing the concept.

Often, a question will ask you to “discuss” something, for instance, two or more related or conflicting issues.

Remember: In an academic question at the doctoral level, discuss means to “analyze and evaluate.”

Sometimes in a discussion question, a mid-level analysis is followed by a request for a synthesis or an evaluation, Bloom’s high-level critical thinking.

Example: You might provide your own thinking as to whether Bowlby’s idea was sufficiently supported by empirical evidence (evaluation) or you might try to show how Bowlby’s concept of insecure attachment dovetails well with some researcher’s theory of the role of anxiety in relationships, the synthesis of two ideas into a new idea.

If you cannot find specific words indicating the level of analysis, look for synonyms that imply the level of critical thinking.

Example: Discuss was offered in an example above. In your own writing, make sure that you use verbs that are appropriate to the level of critical thinking you are using at the time.

In Track 1:

You will acquire new knowledge and comprehension. This is low-level critical thinking. The doctoral training process requires that you are able to use your knowledge to answer questions, make points, or solve problems.

You will establish formative critical thinking skills. Formative means having to do with a person’s development. Early in your program, we don’t expect you to demonstrate sophisticated, doctoral-level thinking. You will grow and develop your skills as you progress through the program.

You will identify and apply high-order levels of critical thinking. You are in the early stage of your program at Track I. Now is the time to begin using the higher-order levels of critical thinking. You may not entirely understand how to apply them, but you should try, each and every time you write:

· Analyze – break an idea into its components and contexts and examine how they influence each other.

· Synthesize – bring disparate ideas together and draw out what they share in common.

· Integrate – combine different ideas in a new way.

· Evaluate – form judgments (based on other evidence) about the quality and strength of the concepts you’re using.

· Apply – find ways to use the ideas to advance our knowledge or solve our field’s problems.

An Example of a Lower-level Classification

What are the three types of qualitative analysis that might be used to study teenagers’ experiences of a drug treatment program?

This question is asking for a lower-level classification: in fact, it is asking for a description and summary of the theories and research involved in that content area. Very few discussion questions would be this simple.

An Example of a Higher Level Classification

Design a drug treatment program using elements from three existing treatment approaches.

· This question is asking for analysis, synthesis, and application, all higher classification levels.

· Before you can combine their elements into a new approach (synthesis), you must first break down the original approaches into their component parts (analysis).

· Application (indicated by words such as design, create, and use) then uses the synthesis of ideas to create a new use or application.

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