I try to design assignments that build off of one another and all work towards larger projects and explicit learning goals, but more than that, I try to make assignments that are fun, flexible, and interesting for students. In general, I like assignments that leave lots of room for students to input their own interests, select their own texts, or represent their own perspectives, into the work. That way, the 'required' class becomes a class students are greater stakeholders in.
Typically, I use three different kinds of assignments:
Typically, I use three different kinds of assignments:
- Discussions - low stakes, knowledge generating spaces where students can interact with each other, with texts, and with concepts from the course to develop a shared and complex understanding of course content and its application to Responses and implementation in Projects.
- Responses - lower stakes writing where students interact individually with readings or other texts and concepts. Responses typically are a performance space to apply concepts in practice. Responses typically build towards Projects in a more explicit way.
- Projects - major projects typically take the form of some long prose writing task. Carefully scaffolded by Discussion, Responses, and a long drafting process with opportunities for metacognitive reflection, Projects/Essays ask students to apply their knowledge of concepts in creating original texts articulating their perspectives as they intersect with topics and concepts in the course. Projects are typically assessed with ample opportunities for revision based on peer, third space, and instructor feedback.