Transparent Assignment Design to Promote Equitable Opportunities for Student Success Sandra Bailey Fort Lewis College March 30, 2017

Transparency in Teaching and Learning Winkelmes, Mary-Ann, Matthew Bernacki, Jeffrey Butler, Michelle Zochowski, Jennifer Golanics, Kati Harriss Weavil. “A Teaching Intervention that Increases Underserved College Students’ Success.” Peer Review (Winter/Spring 2016). Publications and information about the Transparency in Learning and Teaching Project are at: www.unlv.edu/provost/teachingandlearning

Unwritten Rules of College Success Equity of Access Equity of Experience Under represented, first-gen, and low income: half as likely to complete in 4 years Transparent teaching and learning methods explicitly focus on how and why students are learning course content in particular ways. – Transparent teaching/learning methods benefit students who are unfamiliar with college success strategies by explicating learning/teaching processes. – Greater benefits for underrepresented and first-generation students. Winkelmes, MA. “Transparency in Teaching: Faculty Share Data and Improve Students' Learning.” Liberal Education 99, 2 (Spring 2013). Photo: AAC&U, Step Up and Lead for Equity (2016). http://aacu.org/sites/default/files/StepUpLeadEquity.pdf

Intervention: Transparent Assignment Design UNLV Retention Rates 1st year to 2nd year, 2014-15 What is the effect when teachers provide two transparently designed, problem-centered take-home assignments (compared to the unrevised, business-as-usual take-home assignments in the comparison group) on spring-term first-year college students’ learning experiences? Sources: UNLV Data Warehouse / MyUNLV Analytics, 5/5/2016; UNLV Registrar; TILT Higher Ed Survey

Transparent Assignment Template Purpose • Skills practiced • Knowledge gained Task • What students will do • How to do it (steps to follow, avoid) Criteria for success • Checklist or rubric in advance so students can self-evaluate • What excellence looks like (annotated examples where students & faculty apply those criteria) long-term relevance to students’ lives connection to learning outcomes Mary-Ann Winkelmes, Ph.D. Coordinator of Instructional Development and Research; Associate Graduate Faculty, History Department Office of the Provost University of Nevada, Las Vegas 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Mail Code 1014 Las Vegas, NV 89154-1014 Email: Mary-Ann.Winkelmes@unlv.edu Phone: (702) 895-4832 Fax: 702-895-3455 Office: FDH 421 Senior Fellow, Association of American Colleges & Universities Nevada Humanities Board of Trustees Member Principal Investigator, Transparency in Learning and Teaching Project

Gather feedback on your assignment Introduce your assignment to the group, setting up discussion (5 minutes) Disciplinary strangers provide feedback as if from a novice student (10 minutes) Written feedback (5 minutes) Groups of 3 to 4 faculty from different disciplines.

Strategies for Impact What insights are you taking away? What resources might instructors need? What kinds of courses might achieve the greatest impact? How can others be brought into this work or benefit from it? What will you do next and what would help you do that? Two assignments in one course Faculty Learning Communities focused on a cross-cutting outcome Program faculty collaborating on assignments with the intent to transfer knowledge and skills from foundation courses to capstone. Transparent 2nd Tuesdays at 2:00 pm (your time zone) Get some feedback on making your own assignments more transparent. Upload any assignments you’d like to discuss with colleagues and connect on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. (https://www.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/page_files/27/Provost-TILTHigherEd-TransTuesdays.pdf)

References Degree Qualifications Profile, Organizing Assignment-Design Work on Your Campus: A tool Kit of Resources and Materials, http://degreeprofile.org/assignment-design-work/ Publications and information about the Transparency in Learning and Teaching Project are at: www.unlv.edu/provost/teachingandlearning Winkelmes, MA. “Transparency in Teaching: Faculty Share Data and Improve Students' Learning.” Liberal Education 99, 2 (Spring 2013). Winkelmes, Mary-Ann, Matthew Bernacki, Jeffrey Butler, Michelle Zochowski, Jennifer Golanics, Kati Harriss Weavil. “A Teaching Intervention that Increases Underserved College Students’ Success.” Peer Review (Winter/Spring 2016). Two assignments in one course Faculty Learning Communities focused on a cross-cutting outcome Program faculty collaborating on assignments with the intent to transfer knowledge and skills from foundation courses to capstone. Transparent 2nd Tuesdays at 2:00 pm (your time zone) Get some feedback on making your own assignments more transparent. Upload any assignments you’d like to discuss with colleagues and connect on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. (https://www.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/page_files/27/Provost-TILTHigherEd-TransTuesdays.pdf)