EXAMPLE#1: QUESTION FOR RESEARCH:  If Jainists believe they must be non-violent, and killing animals would be violent. Does this mean all Janists are vegetarians, or does this only apply to devote believers? RESEARCHED ANSWER:  According to http://www.jainstudy.org/Vegetarianism.htm#1 Jains are vegetarians because they believe in nonviolence. Many Jains are also Vegans, being that they will not eat meat as well as any animal products such as milk, cheese and eggs. By being vegetarian Jains are not harming any animal, and if they were to eat meat they would also be hurthing themselves because the believe a vegetarian diet is natural and better for their overall health, and helps them to avoid violence to themselves.  From http://www.jainuniversity.org/vegetarianism.aspx I learned that Jains promote a vegetarian lifestyle for the numerous health benefits that they get, and that vegetarians will be generally, more healthy individuals than those who eat meat.  Also, according to both these resources, Jains are considered Lacto's, where they do not eat eggs but they will drink milk.  FOLLOW-UP QUESTION seeking personal perspective: Do you agree that "a vegetarian diet is natural and better for their overall health"? Why or why not? ANSWER: It seems to me that humans are intended to eat both meat and vegetable foods. Just to look at our teeth, they are designed for us to be omnivores. While eating too much meat is not good for our health, nutritionists do agree that we do need a certain amount of meat in our diets - in moderation. It is difficult to get enough protein without meat. A DIFFERENT FOLLOW-UP QUESTION on the same issue: Have you ever tried to be a vegetarian? How was it for you? You'll notice that the questions seeking personal perspective tend to be directed to others in the class, by including the term "you" in it: what do you think? How to you feel about...? What has been your experience with...? etc. You may ask a follow-up question based on a researched answer you post yourself or based on a researched answer a classmate posts. But please post your follow-up question as a new thread giving it a different and relevant subject line.  The researched answer above was an "A" quality. A "D" quality response might look like this: QUESTION FOR RESEARCH:  If Jainists believe they must be non-violent, and killing animals would be violent. Does this mean all Janists are vegetarians, or does this only apply to devote believers? ANSWER (not researched):  I think that all Jains would be vegetarian I would have given a D for this, merely for contributing to discussion. What's wrong with that response?: it is way too brief the question is one seeking facts and the answer is merely a personal guess rather than researched the answer appears to be factual in nature but without having been researched it cannot be verified as true or not. (Never neglect to give credit where credit is due. Factual information has to come from somewhere besides your own ideas. Thus the need for citing sources.) Another poor response might post just a URL, citing a source but offer no substantive content in the answer: I found this website that can answer your question: http://www.jainstudy.org/Vegetarianism.htm I would give no credit for that kind of response but I would invite the student to come back and expand by summarizing the content of the source. On the other hand, if you do provide a researched answer, basically summarizing a source without citing where the information came from, that too would get no credit. I would, again, invite the poster to return and simply add the missing citation and then be happy to give the credit due. EXAMPLE #2: Q: Are all Hindus vegetarians? I know this isn't a very spiritual question, but the power point mentioned that they practice vegetarianism and Hindus that I have worked with were vegetarians. But when I go to an Indian restaurant, there are always plenty of meat dishes available. I'm curious.  This is a great question for research (A+ quality) A: Hindus are not required to be vegetarian. However, some choose to be vegetarian because they feel that it is better for their physical and spiritual health as well as benefiting society and the health of our planet. Apparently, the more conservative, pious, strict adherents to the Vedic traditions abstain from eating “meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs” (http://www.flex.com/~jai/articles/hinmeat.html). This website provides several references to Hindu scripture that support the vegetarian lifestyle. “ Modern meat-eating Hindus will usually not eat beef or pork (which is rapidly changing), but eat all other kinds of meat. “ This website provides pertinent, balanced information on the topic of Hindu vegetarianism. (http://hinduism.about.com/cs/vegetarianism/a/aa261003a.htm) Many Hindus do not eat beef because they consider the cow to be sacred. Krishna was a cowherd and Shiva rode a cow. Clarified liquid butter (ghee), which is produced from cow's milk, is used in sacrifices. Cows were also a symbol of prosperity and are revered for the milk and fuel source they provide. “Since the cow is thought to be God's useful gift to mankind, consuming beef or veal is considered sacrilegious for Hindus.” (http://hinduism.about.com/od/vegetarianism/a/holycows.htm) This is a superior researched answer. It actually cites three resources and both quotes pertinent lines but also has much information that is a synopsis/summary in the student's own words. It is a very informative answer, well researched and properly cited (complete, page specific URLs - for accuracy: copy and paste the URL from your browser address line, do not attempt to manually type the URL). Another Answer to the same question: (D quality) I was curious about this as well. I found out that all are not vegetarians, but they have many reasons as to why they should be.  I found this website: http://www.ivu.org/religion/articles/hindus.html This one is quite different in quality. Although it is at least researched with source cited, it does not really add anything new to the discussion, the answer is rather minimal. This is little better than just pointing us to a place where we can learn more. The answer should say a bit more than it does. Although the website cited here is different than in the first response, the actual content is identical - one of the websites may have copied from the other or both may have copied from a third source. So, not only does the answer not provide any new information or a different perspective, neither does the source cited. EXAMPLE #3: Question with two different answers follow: Q: When we are doing yoga, are we actually practicing Hinduism? This might be taken as either for research - seeking the opinions of others - Hindu or otherwise, or seeking the personal perspective/opinions of the classmates (greater clarity if it asked "Do YOU think..."). The answers that follow are personal perspectives: A1: I asked myself that same question! The different types of 'yoga' in our book are all described as some sort of release. To me, when I do yoga, it is a release of stress and anything negative on my mind; A time to relax and forget every worry. So I guess the answer would be yes, we are practicing a type of meditation derived from the Hindu way of releasing themselves through different types of yoga.  A2:It is my understanding that the yoga we practice is a combination of various stances/ positions derived from the various types of yoga, therefore I would say that you are not practicing Hinduism. Yoga is a form of release and meditation, but just because you do yoga does not mean that you are practicing Hinduism. I believe that in order to practice a religion you have to adopt the entire belief system of the religion. Which of those two answers would you say is better? I would say the second is a bit better. The second answer shows better critical thinking skills: The conclusion follows more logically from the preceding observations  and is also based on a deeper understanding of both religion in general (as a complete "system") as well as an understanding of the differences between the way Hindus pursue yoga (in it's many forms and aspects) vs. the way we pursue yoga (as only the physical positions "derived" from Hindu yoga). Being "derived from" something does not mean it is that something. EXAMPLE #4: a question seeking personal perspective: Q: If you were to choose one aspect of this religion to incorporate into your beliefs or spiritual practices, what would it be and why? ANSWER #1: The aspect of Hinduism that seems most useful to me is meditation and detachment from sensory stimuli. Turning one's focus inward is useful to everyone whether they have a religion or not. It is important to stop for a little while and neither receive input (television, music, conversation) nor produce output (art, conversation, work). One can use this time to reflect on why they do what they do or focus on something outside of themselves. It is an aspect that does not need to have any religious connotation and this makes it more universal. ANOTHER ANSWER: I would choose meditation. A quiet time of reflection and focus on an inner deity and universal connectivity is a beautiful idea.  EVALUATION: The question was GREAT! (an A) The first answer was an A level response: it goes on to explain the thinking behind the immediate answer noted in the first sentence. The second answer (from a different student) is no more than a C level response. It could go more in-depth as does the first answer. It also seems to echo the first, though perhaps unintentionally, and so does not show much originality nor add anything really new to the discussion. EXAMPLE #5: contrast the most extensive response in answer #1 vs. the much less in-depth, superficial response in answer #2: QUESTION:  How do you feel about some of the terms that popped up in our text, like "soldier-saints" and "righteous war"? Do they make sense in the context of Sikhism? ANSWER 1: (A+ quality) I wanted to post a similar question. I was a bit surprised when I learned about the transition from martyrdom to the Sikhs taking up arms (after the 5th guru). I feel that this meant a bit going from one extreme to the other. We have heard in the video how some Sikhs feel that they or their religion can hold both of these sides.  What helped me was to hear that Sikhs are advised to only take up arms when all else fails and that the intention between fighting should not be to attack, but rather to stand up for injustice and oppression. Of course, on the other hand, we have learned about Jainism and their belief in 'ahimsa' (embodied in M. Gandhi) and I am finding it thought-provoking to think about what path is best and most effective.  Gandhi definitely set a striking example of non-violence, but will this always be as effective? After all, he was a rather public figure which may have been part of his success. Or, maybe, there is simply not one right way, maybe both ways are different paths to a similar outcome and which path is most suitable may depend on a number of factors. ANSWER 2: (D quality) I think that some of the context that describe them is a little ironic when they are against war and anything to do with violence. Answer #1 makes several observations, often reflective of differing perspectives ("on the other hand" "or maybe"). This demonstrates that the student is considering various perspectives in thinking deeply about the issue in question.  In contrast, answer #2 is just a single sentence, that does little but essentially say "it is ironic", which is implied by the question itself. Very little thought went into this second answer. I've discussed mainly answers above. Let's consider question asking: Use these discussions as an opportunity to learn more about a topic that the text or my lecture notes do not discuss to satisfy your curiosity.  What makes for a good or bad quality question? ask out of sincere curiosity, not merely to meet a requirement or to test your classmate's knowledge - ask because you really want to know the answer (do not ask if you already know the answer) ask about something that goes beyond information provided in the course materials (the text or my lecture notes): seek out more information, more details, another perspective on the issue... be clear in your phrasing, make clear if you are asking for a personal perspective rather than factual information (no need to "announce" the type of question, the wording itself should make it clear) use a distinctive subject line related to the main theme of your question do not duplicate a question that's already been asked by someone else (a different subject line or slightly different wording does not necessarily constitute a different question) - duplicate questions will be removed from the board EXAMPLE: instead of asking: "Are the Chakras and the ascendance of the Kundalini related to  meditation in Sanatana Dharma?"  That question seems to simply be testing students' knowledge. It also only requires a simple "yes" or "no" to answer. Make your questions more open ended, more challenging: you could ask for more information about Kundalini yoga (a question for research)  or make it a question seeking your classmate's personal perspective by asking what they think about Kundalini yoga or if anyone has ever worked with the chakras and what their experience has been.  EXAMPLE: instead of asking: "Is it true that it is required to separate meat from diary products in the Jewish religion." Another "test" type question that requires only a single word ("yes" or "no" to answer it). This question could be turned into a "why" type question (for research):  Why do Jews separate dairy and meat?  or it could be turned into a question seeking personal perspective by asking something like: Do you think following such dietary regulations should have anything to do with following a religion? Why or why not?  Or  if you were a Jew, would you follow these laws? Why or why not?