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Class Discussion Board for 2 December EVENING ONLY #2

12/2/2019

14 Comments

 
CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD TWO: Based on our discussion last week, and the reading your did for this week, write 100-200 words on what you think should be included in how we evaluate the success of your assignment design. 

I will use this to develop a guideline for how to assess your own work and how I will assess this work. 

14 Comments
Arianna Segura
12/2/2019 04:42:14 pm

In order to evaluate the success of the assignment design we should make sure that it has good instruction. Students will learn better when good clear instruction is given. We should also make sure that the assignment is appropriate for the grade level. The assignment should engage the students and get them to think and ask questions. There should be reflection along with dialogue between the student, teacher, and text. You should also have a clear understanding of how the assignment will be graded. If you are going to include a rubric make sure that it is clear and not too vague. Your lesson/assignment should be planned carefully and revised if needed.

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Lionel Lafleur
12/2/2019 05:07:26 pm

I could not agree more. I have a niece in high school who when she does poorly on a writing assignment I always ask "did you do what was asked?" and the answer is mostly her saying "I didn't really know what they wanted". It's such an easy thing to do for your students and ensure they don't accidently fail.

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LT
12/2/2019 06:17:59 pm

Yes: Clear instructions. Students must know what they are expected to do AND how they will be assessed for doing or not doing what they are supposed to do. Related to this: you must assess based on what you asked them to do, not something you just think they should be doing (but have not articulated in the assignment).

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Charles Pacheco
12/2/2019 05:05:33 pm

I think a good marker as to how successful our assignment design is would be how effective the assignment is at pushing students to think critically about reading and writing. This is usually done through activities and discussions that allow the students to engage with the text without it becoming a chore. It’s a difficult task cause at the end of the day its still school but I think through proper planning and clear guidelines it will allow students to not have to worry so much about the paperwork side of the assignment and more so the discussion and engagement with the text that will allow them to therefore pour those thoughts to their texts. My point is kinda vague so I would be curious to see what others consider an activity that facilitates engagement.

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Lionel Lafleur
12/2/2019 05:05:34 pm

If I’m going to draw up any analysis for how to measure how successful an assessment design is I need to start with accessibility. Any assessment, students should be able to accommodate various differently abled students (in either a mental or a physical capacity). These assessments should be in place, but not every disability is the same and thus as assessment needs to be flexible enough to change with each class. Three classes: 20 neurotypical somato-typical students, 20 physically differently abled student, and 20 mentally differently abled student should all have the same chance for a successful and easily accessible assessment. In short, flexibility is accommodation and it’s finest. Through flexibility this can extend to assessments that account for race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, social situation, gender, and living situation and continue in their accessibility.
Once it’s accessible, the assessment needs to be transparent. There should be clear cut answers to questions so the next assessment is enriched by this one. Encouraging students to “ask if they have any questions” is nice but that doesn’t always work (see accessibility) so if the assessment is clear cut,encouraging, and educational (Yes it has to maybe teach something) every student can stand a chance at success and increasing the chance of future success.

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LT
12/2/2019 06:16:23 pm

If we've been talking about anything this semester, it's about the role good assignment design makes the work of learning how to critically think--to critically read and write--available to any student. This is really the point of universal design. But, of course, you don't want to develop some assignment that you have to modify 11 different ways to "accommodate" each student. Rather, you want to develop an assignment that allows for all students to be successful from whatever place they are at. And, yes, we need to make assessment clear to the students. Crystal.

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Kaleigh Rollins
12/4/2019 11:55:01 am

I would be lying if I didn't admit that I was so excited to see how much you value accessibility when it comes to assignment design. While it has never been something I've personally had struggled with, many of my friends and family members have. In fact, my brother was forced to drop a class because his professor's accommodations were so limited that he had no way of keeping up with the rest of the class and passing the course. If that class had a built in universal design, my brother would have had no issue with the class and probably would have passed it with one of the highest grades in the class. So Accessibility is definitely a key part of assignment design that does not get talked about nearly enough

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Nicholas LaScola
12/2/2019 06:52:21 pm

Good writing assignments vary. They can incorporate so many different components such the creative writing done by Kittle’s students. They can value the student’s language background like Hudley and Mallinson talk about in their work. The way we evaluate writing remains consistent though. It should be a rigorous process, something challenging but manageable based on student ability (i.e. Scaffolding). There needs to be an interaction between the instructor and students with clear instruction, opportunities to receive feedback on their work to promote revision. Revision must be necessary because, as stated in class, if a student is not required to revise then chances are, they will not. Evaluating student work requires time spent collaborating on mechanical issues that arise as a class to make sure they are able to notice them in their own writing. Feedback should guide them to think more critically on their writing and help them revise their work. Finally students should reflect on their own work submitted so that the instructor knows what the student feels their strengths and weaknesses are as well as how far they feel they have come in the process of writing.


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Brittany Prokop
12/3/2019 03:37:09 am

There are multiple parts to a successful assignment design, we went over a few in our class discussion last week and the reading we did for this week highlights some of those ideas. One thing we talked about that Kittle highlights as well is freedom of choice (to an extent, of course). When Kittle talked about her students and their writing journals, she allows them to choose a topic and write about what they want, just as in class, we talked about having an array of topics/options and giving students the freedom to choose from those things. Another parallel, and something extremely important to a successful assignment we discussed was “room to recover,” and Kittle mentions that she lets her students edit their assignments, and tries hard not to over correct grammar.

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Michaela Tobin
12/3/2019 06:25:15 am

In order for this design assessment to be successful, the topic should be something that pulls students in because students want to write about something they are passionate about. The instructor also needs to give clear instructions. In a younger level this is can be used as giving clear steps to the assignment. With clear instructions comes giving the assignment an objective, not making something students need to do for busy work. Students should also receive feedback and guidance with the assignment. It should allow students the opportunity to fail because if students know that they will get a good grade the students may not try as hard.

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Rahel
12/3/2019 11:32:27 am

I think it is especially important that the tasks are clear for the students. Students need to know what to do, how to do it and what to do with it afterwards. This also includes good preparation and an introduction to the topic.
Besides, I think it is important that the task can be fulfilled by all students. This can mean that there are special aids for some students or that others can make the task more open. Thus, different levels in the class are considered.

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Andrea Foley
12/3/2019 05:54:08 pm

The success of the assignment design should be gauged on the inclusion of measurable components of learning. This would include required revision where each stage earns its own credit. As part of the revision process there would be chances for reflection and feedback. There should be a rubric so students will know what they are going to be graded on. It should address some aspect of required learning objectives. The format should consist of equal parts reading and writing of varying lengths. There should be included guidelines for each stage of the project and specific directions on how to meet them.

Reply
LT
12/9/2019 01:42:31 pm

A lot of versions of the same thing got said in this blog post, mostly about how a student needs to be passionate about an assignment or interested or have choice. But, frankly, most students don't care what you ask them to write about because they don't want to write about anything. And no one assignment will allow for all students to care about an assignment. BUT all assignments can be manageable for a student, and the way to do that is what Andrea talks about here: measurable components. How well does a student do XYZ? How does the assignment help them to do that? HOw do you explain to students what is expected of them and how do you explain how you will asses them. That's not some thing I'm seeing in a lot of the comments posted here. Good to see it here.

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Kaleigh Rollins
12/4/2019 09:52:04 am

There is a lot that goes into a good assignment, and they should all in some way be taken into account when evaluating our assignment design projects. While it should go without saying, it is absolutely necessary that the assignments have clear and informative directions. Students shouldn't have to struggle to figure out what is being asked of them. Another key part of a good assignment is a level of difficulty that challenges the student why staying inside the realm of each student's own capability. With this demand for difficulty, a place for risk/failure needs to be factored in along with a way for students to recover and revise their writing. These components, as well as the many others my classmates have pointed out, are what I believe make up a good writing assignment

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