Creating Effective Assignments

 

I suspect the books you use in math are similar to the ones I have in that the teachers edition has recommended problems for basic, normal, or advanced.  The assignments are a bunch of different problems students are expected to complete and turn in.  The problems are always in order and coincide with all the examples.

Unfortunately, that is not the best way to assign problems especially if you want students to learn.  Today, I'm touching on a few changes to make the assignment better.

1.  Figure out what the objectives are that you want students to meet and decide how they will show they've met that objective.  To do that, begin with rewriting the learning objective as "I want my students to be able to: ____________".  In addition, use active verbs when writing the objective such as compare similarities or discuss differences, or explain the steps necessary to solve this type of problem.

2.  Try to make the assignment more interactive and interesting than just straight problems.  See if there is a way of designing the assignment to make it creative and challenging while motivating students at the same time.  Think about how you can change the assignment up so it is no longer the "do every third problem".  Perhaps you can change it to "Write a letter to a friend explaining how to do the problem because they were sick that day" or "Create a video showing how to check your work for this type of problem."

3. If the assignment does include problems from the book, make sure the problems are not in the same order as in the book.  Instead of assigning "Every third problem", maybe do 2, 10, 22, 4, 12, 24 so the problems are mixed up.  This helps students learn the math better.

4.Once you've created the assignment, go back and make sure the assignment still meets the learning objectives.  If the learning objective requires students to compare and contrast two things and you only have the comparison in the assignment, you'll need to go back to include the contrast part. 

5.  Think about how to order assignments so skills are built in the proper order. You want students to build the necessary skills incrementally and make sure students see the connection between what they already know and what they are learning. If you plan to end the semester with some sort of project, make sure the smaller assignments build all the skills they need to complete the project.  

6.  Determine the frequency of assignments and how often they need to be turned in. Will students complete an assignment for each section or for two or three sections with a few problems from each section.  Normally, I'd recommend  having a calendar of assignments and due dates completed prior to the beginning of the semester but with the coronavirus, that might not be as easy to do.

7.  Think about the ability of students to get the assignments done.  Will they have enough time or so they struggle and need additional time?  This is important when creating assignments because more is not always best.  Do students really need to complete 20 problems for every section or will 10 be enough especially if you ask them to discuss how to do it or talk about issues they had working the assignment.

This is just an overall look at creating good assignments but on Wednesday, I'll be looking at questions one needs to answer in more detail when creating an effective assignment.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.