We’re excited to announce our new Transparent Assignment Template and Transparent Discussion Template for Canvas. We’ve made them part of our Live Online and Online Canvas Course templates. Research has shown that students do better on assignments when instructors clearly share the assignment’s purpose, the tasks that must be completed, and the criteria for success. So we have added prompts for this information to the Assignments and Discussions included in our course templates.
Why is this important? Every student does not walk into class equally prepared for the “hidden curriculum,” the unwritten rules and expectations many of us have for college students. Transparent assignments make these expectations explicit, and that seems to level the playing field so that all students are more likely to complete the work the way we intended. Transparent assignments also help students understand their own learning process and the “why” behind the course work.
For an excellent write-up, see How Transparency Improves Learning by Darryl Yong, PhD, professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd College.
The video above explains and previews the Transparent Assignment Template added to the CTLE’s Live Online and Online Canvas Course Templates available via our Using Canvas page: https://empapp.gccaz.edu/ctle/canvas/
It also shows how to import only the new items.
The linked items below are seen in the video:
- The Unwritten Rules: Decode Your Assignments and Decipher What’s Expected of You (PDF) from TILTHigherEd.com – a handout succinctly explaining the research behind the Transparent Assignment Template
- GCC’s Strategic Plan (PDF)
- The CTLE’s Using Canvas page – download a Canvas course template at the bottom of the page
- The Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) Project: tilthighered.com
