Using Backwards Design: A Practical Guide to Creating Assignments

Developed by Sakina Laksimi-Morrow This workshop walks participants through the principals of backwards design and how they can be used as a framework for developing any assignment across disciplines. This easy step by step breakdown of using backwards design is accompanied by additional resources for assignment design and the option for scheduling individual and small group synchronous check in to exchange feedback and answer questions.  Learning Goals: Learn about Backwards design principles and why they are effective. Use backwards design to create an assignment. Introduction: Using backwards design means first defining the learning goals that you want students to meet, …

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Reframing the Final Paper: Alternative & Creative Assignments

Developed by Inés Vañó García Description Writing is a central aspect of academic life. As instructors, we regularly assign essays, compositions, proposals, annotated bibliographies, and final papers. There are, however, alternatives or accompaniments to these written assignments that may accomplish similar goals, or facilitate additional ones. Podcasts, zines, timelines, and other creative assignments allow students to produce artifacts with audiences beyond their instructor in mind, and to acquire knowledge, experience, and transferable skills that they can use throughout their lives and careers. These approaches also can invigorate the writing that students do in their courses and by allowing alternative paths …

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Cultivating Participation & Engagement

Developed by Inés Vañó García Description Students’ participation and engagement are key measures not only of motivation, but they also provide a way to formatively evaluate and summatively assess their learning. Facilitating participation and understanding engagement comes with some particular challenges in online/hybrid courses. This workshop will provide a space for participants to think through what participation can mean in an online/hybrid setting, and to discuss concrete strategies to keep students engaged and motivated through the semester. Participants will have the opportunity to develop and apply participation and assessment strategies to a range of sample assignment types. Learning Goals • …

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