Assignments are necessary in higher education for students to show mastery of content. Grading said assignments is often the most dreaded part of an instructor’s job. We must make sure the effort we put into grading the assignments is worth it. A well-crafted assignment that is not merely a completion checklist but a valuable learning tool is worth it.
When students see value in what they are doing, their motivation and engagement increase.
Ways to build better, shorter, and more efficient assignments:
- Set up the assignment using a format that answers the following questions.
- Motivation – Why are we doing this?
- Clarity – How long should the assignment take?
- Checklists – What are the required parts of the assignment?
- Grading Rubric – What matters/is most valuable in this assignment?
- Relevancy – Can I enhance motivation by choosing better/discipline-specific examples? (e.g., “Think about how this reading is applicable to your future career.”)
- Provide scaffolding
- How can the assignment be broken down?
- Does the assignment make sense as one assignment or a series?
- Can the assignments build on one another?
- Reflection
- Have students reflect on the assignments (before/during/after).
- Templates: https://teachingnaked.com/study-smarter/
- Have students reflect on the assignments (before/during/after).
