Assignments - What do "good enough" Assignments look like?

First, remember our guiding principles:

  1. Good enough is good enough. We are going to do our very best to help students succeed, as always, but we have to be sensible about what we can accomplish.
  2. We need to demonstrate care for our students and ourselves. We can get through this, together, if we take care of ourselves and each other.

Build assignments based on outcomes

If you've watched Marie Kondo, or if you've read The Life-Changing Magic of Having an Organized Course, you remember KonMari tip #2: visualize the destination. What do you want your students to be able to do when they leave your class? Of course, you want them to meet course outcomes. What assignments will help them get there?

What do you want your students to be able to do when they leave your class? These are your final assessments at the end of the quarter. What does the assessment look like 2 weeks before that?  Four weeks before? These can be 3 or 4 purposeful assignments that you're creating that students have the opportunity to demonstrate their learning. 

Prioritize

Remember tip #3, too: determine if the item sparks joy. In other words, prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. Do your students need 5 assignments per week, or can 2-3 per week work instead--especially given these unprecedented stressful circumstances?

Creating purposeful assignments

TILT principles

TILT is Transparency in Teaching and Learning. Use these principles to create a purposeful and meaningful assignment. Articulate these ideas to your students in some way in your assignment. 

  1. Explain the purpose of the assignment. Why are your students doing this assignment? What skills will they demonstrate by completing the assignment?
  2. Describe the task in some detail. Are you writing clear instructions that are understandable by your students? Perhaps a numbered list? Do you have an example of what you want your students to do? Add this. 
  3. Explain the criteria for grading. How are you going to assess the assignment? Using rubrics? What are your criteria for an A-grade assignment? Tell them. 

Finally, provide substantive feedback after students submit assignments. Does your feedback point out the knowledge or skills a student has, or should have, acquired previously? How they should utilize the feedback to gain further knowledge of the topic?  Assessment of  Student Learning can help you here.