Activities, Assignments, & Assessments

Activities and Assignments

  • Learning activities can be characterized as those that engage the student with the content as they move toward understanding and mastery. These are typically not graded or count a small portion of the final percentage.
  • Assignments can be characterized as those that call upon the student to apply knowledge in a variety of ways and formats. These are typically graded but take up a smaller portion of the final percentage.
  • Both activities and assignments may be repeating over the course of a semester.
  • Both activities and assignments may also be used as assessments when applicable.
  • Student accessibility
    • While access to resources is important, access to usable resources is critical. Student needs vary during any given semester or course.
    • Developing new or adapting existing resources to meet these needs provides equitable engagement with content for all students.
    • Some key points to consider:
      • Closed-captioned videos
      • Offering black and white copies along with colorful copies
      • Using consistent font style and size throughout a document
      • Sharing multiple file versions of a document for better screen reader performance (a Word document as opposed to a PDF file)
      • Including alternative text on images within documents or slideshows
      • Balancing colors used to eliminate high contrast or hard to differentiate color schemes
    • Consider using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles
      • Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework to help guide the instructional planning purpose to be as accessible as possible for all learners.
      • Resources, examples, and infographics can be found on the UDL Guidelines website.
    • More accessibility resources, ideas, and support can be found on the UVA Academic Accessibility website.
  • A few activity and assignment ideas:
    • Mind mapping/concept mapping
      • Creating a mind map provides a visual means to break down content and information.
      • A central idea or topic anchors the map with components branching out from the center.
      • Connecting lines are made between the various branches to reveal interrelated pieces.
    • Infographic creation
      • Creating an infographic provides a means of gathering and organizing information to be shown in an understandable and engaging manner.
      • Infographics often contain data points for reference and visualization.
    • Project-based learning experiences
      • Project-based learning often centers around a question in need of a solution. These are typically referred to as “wicked questions” that do not have one simple answer.
      • These experiences may be done individually with a group of peers.
      • Multiple phases characterize project-based learning activities and assignments with the culmination in a presentation.
    • Discussions
      • Both typed and video-based discussions enrich student understanding and communication skills.
      • Written discussions lend themselves to citation and reference while video-based discussions lend themselves to role-play and reflection.

Assessments

Assessments can be characterized as informal or formal evaluations of knowledge and skill within a course.  

There are several types of learning assessments:

  • Pre-assessments:
    • informal
    • used to check prior knowledge or skill
    • rarely graded but used as a starting reference for growth from the beginning to the end of a course
  • Formative assessments:
    • informal
    • used throughout the learning experience to reveal student understanding and knowledge/skill acquisition
    • rarely graded but used regularly as a means of providing feedback to students for continued growth in knowledge and skill
    • activities and assignments are typically designed as formative assessment checks
  • Summative assessments:
    • formal
    • used to determine knowledge/skill at the conclusion of a unit or course
    • most often graded with the option for feedback
  • It is suggested that the activities and assignments not only build content knowledge and skill but reflect the tool and environment of the formal assessment. While this is not always possible, it provides a consistent experience resulting in the most accurate final assessment.

Some courses require licensure-specific preparation. All guidelines provided by licensing bodies should be followed for student preparation and assessment.

Other considerations for activities, assignments, and assessments:

  • Consider frameworks such as Bloom’s taxonomy when designing by removing recall questions from tests and/or include more open-ended questions in which students must synthesize and apply knowledge.
  • Provide choice in demonstrating mastery when possible.
  • Consider the growth mindset when designing learning experiences and assessments.
  • To help prevent cheating on selective answer tests:
    • remove recall questions
    • use time limits
    • include more open-ended questions
    • randomize questions
  • Submitting/sharing files:
    • Within Assignments in Canvas
    • Box
    • OneDrive
    • Google Drive
  • Flexibility on deadlines.
    • Balancing the benefits of structure and sticking to deadlines with accommodations for student needs.
  • Provide meaningful feedback throughout the semester.
    • Use activities and assignments as a means to gauge understanding and provide specific feedback for each student.
  • Provide opportunities for peer feedback with structured guidelines in place to help prevent hyper-critical or not useful comments.
  • Provide opportunities for student self-reflection through metacognition practices and activities.
  • Consider the positives and negatives for individual work versus group work as both have a place in the learning environment.