“Participation” can mean eye contact, chat posts, or peer feedback. Until you say which, you haven’t measured; you’ve wished. An operational definition is a promise to your future self: “When I see X, I’ll count it as Y.” That promise reduces arguments and increases learning. Before you reach for a rubric or a dashboard, sharpen the sentence that defines the thing. If the definition feels slippery, the result will be, too. Clarity first, accountability second, dashboards third.
