Lesson 7 – Transparency
What is the issue with this assessment direction: “Write a polished academic essay using a standard citation style”?
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In short, there is a lot of information missing and a lot expected of students to know based on their previous experience. As mentioned previously,
The instructor could make this assessment more transparent, by:
- Specifying exactly what they mean by “standard” citation style. Do they have an expected word count? What does an “academic essay” mean? In short, by not relying on prior knowledge, cultural familiarity, or a specific way of demonstrating understanding this assessment can become more inclusive and support all students, rather than advantaging only those who are familiar with the culture of the academic discipline, college, and the department. When developing instructions, hunt your assumptions. What might I be taking for granted here? What am I assuming that the students already know?
- Introducing a rubric for an assignment, detailing what constitutes a strong submission and how different elements of the assignment will be evaluated. In this way, they can clarify grading criteria and expectations for students. Alternatively, the rubrics can be co-created with students – instructors can provide a partially completed rubric and ask students to work together to finalize it.
Clear, transparent instructions give all students a chance to succeed. When students know what they are being asked to do and how their work will be assessed, they are empowered to make informed decisions about their learning and approach their assignments with confidence.
Students want (and need) to understand what they are being asked to do and how their work will be evaluated. A well-designed assessment supports students by making the purpose, goals, and evaluation criteria clear. Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) is a research-based project and framework that “aims to advance equitable teaching and learning practices that reduce systemic inequities in higher education” (Winkelmes, n.d).
TILT encourages instructors to communicate three things explicitly:
- Purpose: Why is this assignment important? How does it support learning goals?
- Task: What are students being asked to do?
- Criteria: What does success look like? How will it be evaluated?
For example, as a trades instructor, instead of asking students to “assess a building plan,” you may want to provide a clearer task, such as: “Review the site plan and identify two potential safety concerns. Explain how you would address each issue to ensure the project meets safety standards.”
You may also want to share an example of a strong project submission with comments explaining what made it effective.
In the podcast episode that follows, you can explore more about the underlying thinking behind practicing transparent course and assignment design. If you have the time, explore the entire podcast (44:32 minutes), or focus only on the 2-minute excerpt (from 4:04 until 5:52).
The TILT project emphasizes two main activities through which transparency—and with that, more equitable teaching—can be achieved:
- “Promoting students” conscious understanding of how they learn [and]
- “Enabling faculty to gather, share and promptly benefit from current data about students’ learning by coordinating their efforts across disciplines, institutions and countries”
(Source: https://www.tilthighered.com/)
As an expert in your discipline, who has developed the ability to perform certain tasks quickly and almost intuitively, do you find it challenging to teach those same tasks to students who are still learning? Why or why not?