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Activity Response - Example
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Facilitating a discussion that helps students recall and reflect on new course content.
Activity Response — Example
An Investments: Finance / Management professor wants students to reflect on and explore new concepts introduced after his lecture on stocks. In Canvas, he asks students to go to the Discussions tool where they should list and quickly define five to seven fundamental concepts related to stocks covered in the lecture video. Students should review one other student's post, identify any concepts they share in common, and provide feedback on whether the definition provided was accurate.
- Discussion Prompt: After watching the lecture video, please recall and write a brief definition of two fundamental concepts related to stocks covered in the video.
- Response Prompt: Review one other student's post. Provide feedback on whether the definition provided was accurate and build upon it, if possible.
- Followup Activity: Professor reviews the fundamental concepts covered by most students. He corrects any misperceptions and asks certain students to share their definitions with the class.
- Points: Students received up to 10 points for the activity.
| Example Post | Example Response |
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Topic: Capital Gains and Losses: Investments are also known as capital assets. If you make money by selling one of your capital assets for a higher price than you paid to buy it, you have a capital gain. In contrast, if you lose money on the sale, you have a capital loss. Capital gains and losses may be a major factor in your portfolio performance, especially if you are an active investor who buys and sells frequently. Profits you make by selling an asset you have held for over a year are considered long-term capital gains and are taxed at a lower rate than your ordinary income. However, short-term gains from selling assets you have held for less than a year do not enjoy this special tax treatment, so they are taxed at the same rate as your ordinary income. That is one reason you may want to postpone taking gains, when possible until they qualify as long-term gains. |
I think your definitions are pretty accurate. I was focused on the concept of unrealized gains and losses — sometimes called paper gains and losses. I think these are the result of changes in the market price of your investments while you hold them but before you sell them. My understanding is that, for example, the price of a stock you hold in your portfolio increases. If you do not sell the stock at the new higher price, your profit is unrealized because if the price falls later, the gain is lost. Only when you sell the investment is the gain realized — in other words, it becomes actual profit. |