With so much content on the internet, it becomes extremely challenge to scratch an impressive assignment. I bet, everyone can relate to this, especially the students who struggle to get the marks they desire. Undoubtedly, a lot of teachers have experienced receiving subpar student work and have wondered what went wrong. very frequently, those issues can be resolved in the future with some little adjustments to the first assignment. This essay will look at a look at several crucial factors to take into account while creating assignments, and provide some simple ways to design an assessment that is beneficial to all parties involved.
First Things First…
Assignment Purpose:
The goal of the assignment must be stated clearly. Even while you are aware of the importance of the assignment and its goals, you cannot assume that your pupils will understand them. Your students will value your explanation of how the task ties into the course’s wider objectives and what it will teach them (Hass & Osborn, 2007). Being open and honest with your pupils about the purpose behind the work you have given them will ultimately inspire them to finish it more carefully.
Focus on Rhetorical or Cognitive Models:
You should explain to your pupils the “rhetorical or cognitive mode(s)” you want them to use when composing an assignment if you are giving them one. In other words, whether you’re asking people to analyze, argue, describe, inform, etc., use clear verbs that communicate. (Verbs like “explore” or “comment on” may be overly general and lead to misunderstanding.) Give them a clear assignment to do, such as a puzzle to solve, a question to respond to, or a thesis to defend. It suggests giving a claim that students must defend or reject, or an issue that requires a thesis answer, for those who want assignments to lead to top-down, thesis-driven writing.
Highlight the Evaluation Criteria:
Finally, you should be clear about how the task will be judged. What are the most crucial components of content? Will you assign a global grade or individual weights to each feature? What weight, if any, will be assigned to specific components, etc.? When creating requirements for your students, another precaution to take is to be careful that your instructions and rubric do not obscure the subject; dictating each component of an assignment too strictly can restrict students’ freedom to explore and discover. A good assignment “provides the objective and guidelines… without prescribing exactly what to say,” says Beth Finch Hedengren (2004, p. 27). Before the students finish the assignment, be sure to provide them the assignment description and the grading criteria if you decide to use them.
Do Use Open-Ended Questions.
The best and most difficult assignments encourage students to think and explain rather than provide simple yes-or-no responses, whether this is stated openly in the assignment description or in the brainstorming heuristics (Gardner, 2005).
Do Direct Students to Appropriate Available Resources:
Concerning the advice on the pupil, additional resources should be reached out which help get the best results. This assistance must be provided to the students enabling them to score high in their academics. The instructors should include the list of readings, the books, as well as the texts following the potential research topics, or links to appropriate websites.
Do Consider Providing Models,
both effective and ineffective models should be included. These models could come from previous pupils or ones you’ve made yourself. In order to assist students see the finished product, engage in critical thought about how to complete the project, and, ideally, recognize success in their own work, you could even ask them to evaluate the models themselves using the established evaluation criteria.
Do Consider Including a Way for Students to Make the Assignment Their Own.
A research confirmed the value of student participation in an assignment on a personal level. In fact, if a task has personal significance, is useful outside of the classroom, or has a larger purpose, pupils will be more motivated to do it. Consider strategies to inspire students to draw on their own knowledge or interests, tackle or investigate a real-world issue, or engage with the community. Giving pupils a choice of assignment options can also encourage their individuality, creativity, and sense of control.
Include Sequencing;
Do take into consideration sequencing if your assignment is lengthy or large. Assignments are frequently offered as one-time final projects that are graded at the end of the semester and then ignored by the student forever. You can encourage thoughtfulness, complexity, and thoroughness in your students and emphasize process over final product by sequencing a large assignment, or essentially breaking it down into a systematic approach consisting of interconnected smaller elements (such as a project proposal, an annotated bibliography, or a rough draught, or a series of mini-assignments related to the longer assignment).
Concluding Remarks:
The success academic journey of the student is dependent on how carefully they plan their work out. They should not set unrealistic deadlines or demand the utilization of insufficient materials to complete the project. If you want all of your pupils to access the same resource, for instance, make sure there are enough copies available or at the very least have one copy on reserve in the library. Likewise, be sure to give your pupils enough time to find materials and successfully complete the work. You can make sure that your assignments will engage and thrill your students in addition to being useful evaluation tools by starting out with a purpose and being thoughtful. If you need further assistance creating or correcting an assignment, the Online assignment writers in Dubai could be reached out.
