Major Assignments & Projects

There are innumerable ways to create assignments, projects, or papers that align with course or module learning outcomes. Here are some advantages of using major assignments over exams in online courses (in addition to the difficulty proctoring exams in an online environnment, discussed below):

• Assignments are a great way to engage students and to help them see the value of what they are learning
• Students tend to distribute their time more effectively when working on papers and projects than studying for exams
• Assignments are associated with longer lasting learning than exams
• They are less stressful for most students than proctored, timed exams
• There are fewer concerns about academic integrity than with exams

Designing Engaging and Authentic Assignments

Giving students a real, human reason for their coursework can increase motivation and  deepen learning. These sorts of assignments have also been shown to lead to more equitable learning outcomes for students. How can you create authentic assignments that engage students with meaningful problem-solving and promote high-level thinking? Here are two overlapping approaches:

Problem-Based and Inductive Learning- This approach involves using questions, cases and "messy" problems to provide a context for students' learning. Problem-based and inductive learning have been shown to increase students' conceptual knowledge and skill development. 

Authentic and Renewable Assignments- Authentic and renewable assignments extend the value of students’ work beyond their courses by inviting them to produce an assignment for a real (or simulated real) audience, rather than just for the instructor. These types of assignments increase student motivation by showing what the material is for, and deepen learning of concepts and skills. 

Start by identifying a context and an opportunity for this type of assignment:

A good first step is to identifying a major learning objective for your course:

• Think about what it means to think like a well-informed person in your field (with respect to this learning objective). What sorts of real-world problems or projects or tasks require this understanding? In other words, in what non-academic contexts do these skills/concepts matter? What do they enable a well-informed person to do?
• What sort of opportunities could students have to show that kind of understanding in your course?

Designing your assignment-Six Things to Decide:

1. What is the problem or question that causes someone to be interested in the topic?
2. What role will the student play?
3. Who is the audience for the work?
4. How will the students communicate to the audience? What product will they generate?
5. How will you know if they have acquired the key skill or knowledge (i.e., assess learning)?
6. What challenges might you face in implementing this idea? What are possible solutions?

Creating and using authentic assignments podcast:

Hear CTE Director Dea Follmer lead a discussion with Carol Halsted, Journalism and Mass Communications, and Meagan Patterson, Educational Psychology, on different methods to consider when creating and using authentic assignments.