Week 1: Discussion 1 and 2

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses.

The purpose of this discussion is to contrast theories, evidence, beliefs, and biases. Prepare and post a response to the following questions.

Using concepts from the assigned readings, define what a theory is. Describe how you can know if a theory is valid. Offer one example of how a personal belief may differ from a theory. Note: Do not use the same example that one of your classmates has used in a previous post.

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required resources and/or other scholarly sources, and properly cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.