Low-Stakes Assignments

Many instructors ask students to complete and turn in frequent low-stakes assignments such as quizzes, reading reflections, short essays, problem sets, or other homework. They help scaffold the learning you want to happen by providing students practice and feedback on critical skills or content. They also provide structure to students' time of the course, create multiple checkpoints to keep students on track, and enable you to gauge and respond to their learning in an ongoing way. Systematic checkpoints are valuable even in in-person courses, but are especially important in online courses because there are no other regular indicators of whether students are "getting it."

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In reflecting on her spring 2020 experience, Michelle Miller, a faculty member at Northern Arizona University and author of Minds Online: Teaching effectively with Technology, writes that she plans to significantly reduce her reliance on high stakes assignments in favor of periodic, smaller assignments. "... I’m going to avoid anything that puts students in the position of cramming a lot of work in on a test or a project within a short time frame, just to satisfy a grade requirement. Such heavily weighted assignments turned out to be the worst ones to try to run with integrity in a virtual environment."

This page lists several options in Blackboard for implementing these types of low stakes assignments, depending on the question format and modality.

Related Content

Type of Assignment	Tools	Details
Multiple choice (or true/false) reading quizzes or problems	Quizzes option in Canvas	Can program with correct answers for automatic grading and feedback Can set up question pools so different students receive different questions about the same topic
Short answer or essay questions about readings or other materials- Option 1	Quizzes option in Canvas	Students type or paste responses into text field(s). Open-ended response are reviewed and graded by instructor
Short answer or essay questions about readings or other materials- Option 2	Assignments option in Canvas	Students upload word or other document with responses Option to create a rubric for feedback and grading
Short answer or essay questions about readings or other materials- Option 3	Discussions in Canvas	Prompts students to address key questions and hear from/get feedback from peers Suggest students respond to other student responses in the board or blog Organize into smaller groups for a large course
Handwritten problem sets, diagrams, designs, or other assignments	Assignments in Canvas	Students can scan or take a picture of handwritten work and upload it, or another type of file Option to create a rubric for feedback and grading
Pre- or post-class writing- Option 1	Quizzes or Assignments in Canvas	Students type or paste responses into text field(s). Open-ended response are reviewed and graded by instructor
Pre- or post-class writing- Option 2	Assignments in Canvas	Students upload word or other document with responses Option to create a rubric for feedback and grading
Pre- or post-class writing- Option 3	Discussions in Canvas	Tool for individual student writing Keeps cumulative record of student responses as they add entries over time
Pre- or post-class writing- Option 4	Discussions in Canvas	Prompts students to address key questions and hear from peers Suggest students respond to other student responses in the board or blog Organize into smaller groups for a large course

Grading and Feedback. Some low-stakes assignments are automatically graded, giving students immediate feedback on their learning and lightening the virtual paper load on you. Others could be evaluated by using a simple rubric or giving credit for completion, with either personalized feedback (more time consuming), or group-level feedback in the form of an instructor post or wrap-up commentary.