Designing assignment instructions NMMU Writing Centres 2013-2014

Overview of this session Introductions Outcomes for this workshop Importance of clear assignment instructions Principles of quality teaching and learning Social purposes of writing tasks Using sequencing and scaffolding when planning written assignments Critique of examples of assignment instructions Evaluation

Introductions Please introduce yourself, specifying your title, faculty, department and the modules you teach. Also mention your expectations of this workshop.

Outcomes of this session Clarifying what needs to be considered when designing assignment instructions Identifying social purposes of different genres, including genres of writing tasks Using sequencing and scaffolding when planning written assignments Evaluating examples of assignment instructions with reference to principles of quality teaching and learning (T&L) practices

Importance of assignment instructions Deep learning depends less on the amount of writing assigned in a course than on the design of the writing assignments (Anderson, Anson, Gonyea & Paine in Bean 2011) Assignment instructions model genre and writing practices for students, but can also be confusing Students’ experiences of writing assignments influence how they develop writing and reading literacies Carefully designed assignments enhance learning of course content 08/05/2019

Some principles of quality T&L Start where students are; use language that students understand Teach for diversity (gaps in background knowledge) Make expectations explicit; model clear writing Use valid, reliable and fair assessment practices - formative and summative Align the assignment to a rubric which specifies learning outcomes and assessment criteria If in doubt, have your assignment instructions edited

Writing-to-learn assignments: short, for writer’s benefit, no marks Address course content via regular short assignments Personal (daily/weekly)– notes, logs, micro- themes, letters, attitudes, minute papers, journals, email forums, writing to read or discuss Transactional – summaries, letters, reviews, feature articles, scripts, dialogues, manuals Link writing with action – campus or community research reports, presentations– Improve quality of students’ writing by giving feedback and expecting revision on drafts; small group problem-solving.

Scaffolding and sequencing tasks Before students write long research papers they need to write short assignments that are less cognitively demanding (e.g. ‘Write a paragraph in which you list/ classify/ summarise …’) or give a one minute paper at the beginning or end of a class (see handout Using Writing to promote active learning) For the first full length essay, the lecturer could design a fairly easy topic and supply all the research sources For the second essay task, the lecturer could provide a slightly more challenging topic and send students to the library to find a limited number of their own sources, and so on

Designing writing assignments What is the purpose of the writing task? What are the needs of the students who will engage with this task? How does the task align with the objectives of the course content? How authentic is it? How accessible is the content to students? How will the writing process further students’ content knowledge and academic literacy? What content knowledge, attitudes and literacies are expected of students in this task? (Kroll & Reid 1994:21 in Ferris & Hedgcock 1998)

Identifying social purposes of writing tasks 08/05/2019

A Note About Genre (Text Type) Specifying a genre or text-type (abstract, research report, journal article, laboratory report, site report or reflection paper) helps students to make decisions about document design and organisation, tone and style. Knowing the genre helps students have an idea of what the lecturer’s expectations might be (if the genre features have been explained)

Continuum of difficulty in written assignments First Year Students Postgraduates Known readers Unknown readers Friendly readers Sceptical readers Familiar topic Unfamiliar topic Information is provided Information generated Familiar genre Unfamiliar genre Short (e.g. micro-themes) Long (e.g. dissertations) Few sources Many sources Single purpose Complex purposes Well-defined task Ill-defined task (Adapted from Hesse, 2012)

Effectively Designed Assignments a meaning-constructing task interactive components clear explanations of the lecturer’s expectations (Anderson, Anson, Gonyea & Paine in Bean 2011).

A Meaning-Constructing Task A “meaning-constructing task” asks students to apply their own critical thinking to a problem that is relevant to the discipline they are studying. This kind of task presents the problem within a rhetorical context that gives students a role, a purpose, a targeted audience and a genre. Examples of the student’s role in writing are: academic expert, grant applicant, site inspector, fellow student, and so on These are examples of purposes: clarifying something that puzzles the reader; changing the reader’s opinion about an issue; deepening the reader’s sense of an issue’s complexity. Specifying an audience, especially one that is authentic (besides the assessor), can enhance student motivation (Hughes 2009)

Interactive Components initial brainstorming or free-writing handing in an annotated reference list before writing writing multiple drafts receiving feedback on drafts from the lecturer or peers allowing students to rewrite assignments for a better mark can encourage deep learning (Anderson, Anson, Gonyea & Paine in Bean 2011)

Example of an assignment Imagine that you are a 19th century parent who wants his or her daughters to go to university (role). Write an argumentative essay (genre) to persuade (purpose) the leaders of Oxford University (audience) to admit female students. This essay should show your familiarity with the historical context and mid-19th century thinking regarding the education of women. Hand in an annotated reference list (interactive component) on 13 March 2014 and your first draft for peer feedback (interactive component) by …

Explaining expectations Unpacking the assignment instructions in class Showing students a good example of the genre they will use for writing and explaining the features of the genre Discussing the marking grid (or rubric) in class

Application Activity Discuss the following examples of assignment instructions taking the considerations for assignment designing (see handout) into account:

Where we are South Campus – Linda Mostert, Room 06LG11 Tel: 041 5042686, Email: Linda.Mostert@nmmu.ac.za North Campus – Sivu Tywabi, M214C, 2nd Floor Tel: 041 5042321 Email: Sivu.Tywabi@nmmu.ac.za 2nd Avenue Campus – Shena Lamb, 410-015 Tel: 041 504 3773 Email: Shena.Lamb@nmmu.ac.za

References Bean, J.C. 2011. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Cuseo, J. 2007. The cornerstones of first-year student success: Research-based principles of effective human learning, student retention and personal development. Front Range Community College, Fort Collins, Colorado. Ferris, D., & Hedgcock , J.S. 1998. Teaching ESL composition: purpose, process and practice. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Hesse, D. year unknown. Writing Beyond Writing Classes: Useful Strategies for Busy Professors. Available: https://fp.auburn.edu/writing/files/Making_Writing_Assignments_in_Content_Courses.pdf Hughes, C. 2009. Assessment as text production: drawing on systemic functional linguistics to frame the design and analysis of assessment tasks, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 34, No.5, pp. 553-563. Reed, Y., Granville, S., Janks, H., Makoe, P., Stein, P., van Zyl, S. with Samuel, M. 2003. (Un)reliable Assessement Perspectives in Education. Special Issue Assessment of Change in Education,21(1).