General Strategies:

• The process of designing an assignment takes the form of a loop with the beginning and end point being the learning
  goal(s).
• Clearly link the assignment to the course goals and learning objectives.
• Design assignments around real-world issues and events to engage and motivate students.
• Design assignments to be slightly above students' current expertise.
• Break large, high-stakes assignments into multiple, lower-stake assignments. For example before the final project is due students might have already turned in and received feedback on a short summary of the issue, a list of library resources, and a first-person interview with an expert.
• Identify resources required for the assignment and make them readily available. For example, link directly to assignment readings through the library - unless one of the course learning goals is library research expertise!
• Be clear about assessment: Provide grading guidelines for the assignment in the form of rubrics or examples of acceptable and unacceptable work.
• Provide supporting structures - templates, peer review, examples, multiple drafts, guidelines for library research, etc.. Remove these supports slowly as students achieve greater levels of competency and expertise.
• Provide prompt and clear feedback.
• Include plagiarism, re-write and overdue policies in the syllabus.
• Revise assignments for next term based on student performance and feedback. Is the assignment successful at developing student expertise as identified in the course learning goals?

Strategies and resources-- specific types of assignments

• Library research
• Critical thinking
• Internships
• Community service
• Writing-intensive assignments

In addition to the specific resources above, contact:

Center for Writing

Instructional Design and Development (IDD)

• Assignments for online and hybrid learning environments

Academic Integrity

• Faculty resources