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assignment strategies

I don't understand what you want in this assignment

“I Don’t Understand What You Want in This Assignment”

We’re interested in assignments. To us, they seem like a vital aspect of instruction that goes largely unexamined. What sparked our interest was the way students so often respond to written assignments: “What do you want?” or “I don’t understand what you want in this

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using assignments effectively

Assignments: A Theme for the Coming Semester

One of the luxuries of this online format that we didn’t have when The Teaching Professor was a print publication is the ability to pursue topics more thoroughly, to come at them from different directions, and to assemble collections of resources related to them. We

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assignments students hate

Giving Students Assignments They Hate

When I meet with faculty, I often talk about the importance of moving our conversations about teaching beyond the “tips and tricks” to the kind of thought-provoking discussions that help promote, motivate, and sustain our growth as teachers.

Why this article is worth discussing: Student

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building transparency into assignments

Building Transparency into Our Assignments

In education, transparency is typically described as making teaching and learning visible. “Transparent teaching involves making the implicit explicit for students so they understand why they are engaged in certain tasks and what role the course plays in their learning journey,” according to a recent

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reading quizzes-get students to do the reading

The Reading Quiz Shake-up

An interesting variety of different types of quiz questions and formats are used in two philosophy courses with the goal of encouraging students to come to class on time, prepared, and ready for discussion.

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taking notes on the reading

Taking Notes on the Reading

Every course has assignments, but do they get the attention they deserve or do the same versions end up in the syllabus year after year? How much variety is there in the assignments students complete, in degree programs or even across their years at the

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post-exam-review

Post-Exam Review Activity

Students correct missed questions on their exams and reflect on the reasons why the questions were missed. They examine their study strategies and exam preparation behaviors and then propose what they should do differently to improve the outcome on the next exam.

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responding to teacher feedback

Responding to Feedback via Cover Letter

The main assignment is a traditional research paper, in this case one for a psychology research methods course. Drafts of each of the paper’s four main sections are due separately and returned with teacher feedback. The final version of the paper is submitted with a

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