To grade a Discussion topic the assessment feature must be configured, by default it is not enabled. Instructors can alter the topic settings at any time, and can turn on the assessment feature, even after students have begun posting to the topic. So, if you forgot to do so don't worry!
For details on the Assessment options, and steps to enable it please visit this resource: Create New Forum Topic - Brightspace at Brock Documentation.
Instructors are able to see the authors of anonymous posts, but they are unable to grade anonymous posts. If the posts are going to be graded, instructors may wish to refrain from allowing anonymous posts. Learn more from Creating a new Forum or Creating a new Topic.
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When the assessment feature is enabled for a Discussion topic, the icon below will appear under the Topic Title.
How to View Assess Topic
On the navbar, select the Discussions. tool
On the Discussions List page, select the drop-down arrow on the topic to evaluate, then select Assess Topic from the list of options.
On the Assess Topic Page select the Topic Score link beneath the name of the student to assess their topic posts.
In the Evaluation page graders will see all of the students posts in a list. The list includes initial posts and replies.
Steps to Assess Students
Enter the grade/score for each post and add contextual feedback.
Select Save Draft or Publish. We recommended Saving feedback and grades as draft, and then release all student feedback at one time.
Use the arrow buttons to go navigate forward or backwards through the list of students to assess their discussion posts.
When finished grading all students remember to publish feedback or students will not be able to see their grades or any comments made. To easily publish feedback for the entire topic selects the Publish All Feedback button at the top of the Assess Topic page.
In the picture above, all posts are set to be evaluated, and the calculation rule is that the average score amongst all posts will be the assigned topic score.
To enable assessment of individual posts, follow these steps: Go to Discussions > select the drop-down arrow on the topic > select Edit topic> on the Assessment tab > select the Allow assessment of individual posts check box and set the calculation rule. For more information visit Create New Forum Topic for details.
To revert, simply clear the check box to assess the topic as a whole.
Views for Grading
This section provides an overview for the different viewing options when grading students work.
Navigate to the Topic you wish to assess and click Assess Topic in the drop-down menu.
Click on Topic Score under the user you want to start grading.
To the right above the students post there will be Filter and Sort buttons.
The Filter button can sort by Post or Score:
Post: select Threads to only threads posted by the student, Replies to only see replies posted by the student, or select both or clear to see both Threads and Replies at the same time.
Score: select Unscored to only see posts that have not been assigned a score, select Score to only see posts that have been scored, or select both or clear to see both scored and unscored posts.
The Sort button organizes the students posts by Oldest First, Newest First, or Post Subject.
Discussions Account Settings
There are two well-hidden discussions settings that can be applied to an instructor’s account, meaning they will be applied to every course they are a part of. These settings can be found by selecting the account icon in the top-right > Account Settings > Discussions.
Discussions List Pane
The first available option is labelled Always show the Discussions List pane. This “pane” refers to a table of contents that appears when instructors and TAs are inside discussion topics or looking at individual posts. This pane is helpful for quick navigation between discussion forums and topics, and skips having to return to the main discussions page to go to a different topic.
Including Original Post in Reply
Another option is labelled Include original post in reply. This makes it so when an instructor or TA goes to post a reply in a discussion, it will also include the original post they are responding to in their reply. This makes it so students don’t have to scroll and search for what is being responded to.