Purpose of Assignment: The purpose of this assignment is to allow you to interact with other class members and engage in a beneficial discussion regarding different aspects of stress and its management.

Assignment:For this assignment, you will participate in a discussion about stress. After you login to Blackboard if you look at the menu to the left you will see the link to the discussion.

There in the discussion forum, you will find a question or a case study for you to address. You will place in the discussion forum your answer. An answer consists of a minimum of 500 words, and a quality answer includes detail to support your response, relevant insights from the text and the journal, and reflects attention to grammar (spelling ~ well, we will let that slide for now since there is no spell check in Blackboard).

The second part of the assignment requires that you later return to the discussion forum, read what has been posted by your classmates, and then select one posting to respond and comment your classmates answer.

It is expected that each participating member of the discussion group will be treated with courtesy. Furthermore, please share only to the extent you are comfortable. If you are using the behavior of another person to illustrate your response, please do NOT use that individual's real name. Make up a name for your example.

Again, let me emphasize that for each question, you should post a response to the discussion question or case study and a comment about another person's post. Therefore, for each discussion topic, you should post twice. The exception to this requirement will be for the introduction.

Note that you are given a period of days within which to post your initial response and to respond. After that period of time, the discussion question is considered closed and no more postings allowed.

After the last discussion, you will access the Discussion assignment, complete the self-reflection, and submit it.

If you have not posted using Blackboard discussion before, click on this link to Ithaca College Computing, which will bring you to the page where you can download the Quick Guides.

Evaluation: You will be evaluated on the quality and content of your submitted contributions to your discussion group. See the example below to see the difference between a high quality, "A" response, and a lesser quality, "C" response.

Discussion Question 1: For many individuals, college life is fraught with stressors. This is particularly true if we define stress as "a response to a demand" or "pressure to adapt to change." Stress becomes a problem when the demands exceed our perceived ability to cope. Given your experience here at Ithaca College, what do you feel are the top three causes of stress for Ithaca College students? For each cause, provide some specific ideas about what could be done to make the situation less stressful or more manageable.
A "C" Response	An "A" response
Response: Class registration is a hassle. I never get the courses I want. Another stressor is ...	Response: Registration for classes tends to be a stressful event for me. Often I do not get the classes I need. This stress is compounded by the fact that I am a transfer student so first, I am not on track with the rest of the students in my major, and second, I feel a lot of pressure trying to make sure I graduate on time. When I can not get into classes, I spend a lot of my day tracking down professors to get the signatures I need to get into the course. Some professors are really nice and understand my situation; others are less concerned and give me a hassle. When I get all the signatures I need (which can take a couple of days), then I have to stand on line to turn them in. The whole process creates stress and I worry that each time I do not get in a class I need, that I will not graduate on time and this will cost me additional money.
Response to Classmate's Post: That happens to me too.	Response to Classmate's Post: Registration at times can be very stressful. Your pressure to graduate on time and the hassle of getting into the courses you need compound the stress. Perhaps you could work with your advisor and identify the courses you need before registration. Then you could visit each of the professors with the override form before registration actually starts... etc.

Home :: Outline :: Journaling :: Self-Assessments :: Discussion

Schedules	May Intersession
	Summer Session 1
	Summer Session 2
	Winter Intersession 2 week
	Winter Intersession 4 week

This page was last updated on 05.05.08 by Dr. Deborah A. Wuest, Ed.