The goal of Transparent Assignment Design is to “to make learning processes explicit and equally accessible for all students” (Winkelmes et al., 2019, p. 1). The development of a transparent assignment involves providing students with clarity on the purpose of the assignment, the tasks required, and criteria for success as shown in the figure below. The inclusion of these elements as well as the provision of examples can be beneficial in enabling your students to do their best work!
- Example A: Sociology
- Example B: Science 101
- Example C: Psychology
- Example D: Communications
- Authors of Examples A-D describe the outcomes of their assignment revisions
- Example E: Biology
- Discussion Questions (about Examples A-E)
- Example F: Library research Assignment
- Example G: Criminal Justice In-Class activity
- Example H: Criminal Justice Assignment
- Example I: Political Science Assignment
- Example J: Criteria for Math Writing
- Example K – Environmental History
- Example L – Calculus
- Example M – Algebra
- Example N – Finance
- Example O – Geographical Info Systems
- Transparent Assignment Template for instructors (Word Document download)
- Checklist for Designing Transparent Assignments
- Assignment Cues to use when designing an assignment (adapted from Bloom’s Taxonomy) for faculty
- Transparent Equitable Learning Readiness Assessment for Teachers
- Transparent Assignment Template for students (to help students learn to parse assignments also to frame a conversation to gather feedback from your students about how to make assignments more transparent and relevant for them)
- Measuring Transparency: A Learning-focused Assignment Rubric (Palmer, M., Gravett, E., LaFleur, J.)
- Transparent Equitable Learning Framework for Students (to frame a conversation with students about how to make the purposes, tasks and criteria for class activities transparent and relevant for them)
- Howard, Tiffiany, Mary-Ann Winkelmes, and Marya Shegog. “Transparency Teaching in the Virtual Classroom: Assessing the Opportunities and Challenges of Integrating Transparency Teaching Methods with Online Learning.” Journal of Political Science Education, June 2019.
- Ou, J. (2018, June), Board 75 : Work in Progress: A Study of Transparent Assignments and Their Impact on Students in an Introductory Circuit Course Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah.
- Palmer, M. S., Gravett, E. O., & LaFleur, J. (2018). Measuring transparency: A learning‐focused assignment rubric. To Improve the Academy, 37(2), 173-187. doi:10.1002/tia2.20083
- Winkelmes, M., Allison Boye and Suzanne Tapp, ed.s. (2019). Transparent Design in Higher Education Teaching and Leadership.Stylus Publishing.
- Humphreys, K., Winkelmes, M.A., Gianoutsos, D., Mendenhall, A., Fields, L.A., Farrar, E., Bowles-Terry, M., Juneau-Butler, G., Sully, G., Gittens, S. Cheek, D. (forthcoming 2018). Campus-wide Collaboration on Transparency in Faculty Development at a Minority-Serving Research University. In Winkelmes, Boye, Tapp, (Eds.), Transparent Design in Higher Education Teaching and Leadership.
- Copeland, D.E., Winkelmes, M., & Gunawan, K. (2018). Helping students by using transparent writing assignments. In T.L. Kuther (Ed.), Integrating Writing into the College Classroom: Strategies for Promoting Student Skills, 26-37. Retrieved from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology website.
- Winkelmes, Mary-Ann, Matthew Bernacki, Jeffrey Butler, Michelle Zochowski, Jennifer Golanics, and Kathryn Harriss Weavil. “A Teaching Intervention that Increases Underserved College Students’ Success.”Peer Review (Winter/Spring 2016).
- Transparency and Problem-Centered Learning. (Winter/Spring 2016) Peer Review vol.18, no. 1/2.b
- Winkelmes, Mary-Ann. Small Teaching Changes, Big Learning Benefits.” ACUE Community ‘Q’ Blog, December, 2016.
- Winkelmes, Mary-Ann. “Helping Faculty Use Assessment Data to Provide More Equitable Learning Experiences.” NILOA Guest Viewpoints. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, March 17, 2016.
- Gianoutsos, Daniel, and Mary-Ann Winkelmes.“Navigating with Transparency: Enhancing Underserved Student Success through Transparent Learning and Teaching in the Classroom and Beyond.” Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Association of Developmental Educators (Spring 2016).
- Sodoma, Brian.“The End of Busy Work.” UNLV Magazine 24,1 (Spring 2016): 16-19.
- Cook, Lisa and Daniel Fusch. One Easy Way Faculty Can Improve Student Success.” Academic Impressions (March 10, 2016).
- Head, Alison and Kirsten Hosteller. “Mary-Ann Winkelmes: Transparency in Teaching and Learning,” Project Information Literacy, Smart Talk Interview, no. 25. Creative Commons License 3.0 : 2 September 2015.
- Winkelmes, Mary-Ann, et al. David E. Copeland, Ed Jorgensen, Alison Sloat, Anna Smedley, Peter Pizor, Katharine Johnson, and Sharon Jalene. “Benefits (some unexpected) of Transparent Assignment Design.” National Teaching and Learning Forum, 24, 4 (May 2015), 4-6.
- Winkelmes, Mary-Ann. “Equity of Access and Equity of Experience in Higher Education.” National Teaching and Learning Forum, 24, 2 (February 2015), 1-4.
- Cohen, Dov, Emily Kim, Jacinth Tan, Mary-Ann Winkelmes,“A Note-Restructuring Intervention Increases Students’ Exam Scores.” College Teaching vol. 61, no. 3 (2013): 95-99.
- Winkelmes, Mary-Ann. “Transparency in Teaching: Faculty Share Data and Improve Students’ Learning.” Liberal Education Association of American Colleges and Universities (Spring 2013).
- Winkelmes, Mary-Ann. “Transparency in Learning and Teaching: Faculty and students benefit directly from a shared focus on learning and teaching processes.” NEA Higher Education Advocate (January 2013): 6 – 9.
- Bhavsar, Victoria Mundy. (2020). A Transparent Assignment to Encourage Reading for a Flipped Course, College Teaching, 68:1, 33-44, DOI: 10.1080/87567555.2019.1696740
- Bowles-Terry, Melissa, John C. Watts, Pat Hawthorne, and Patricia Iannuzzi. “Collaborating with Teaching Faculty on Transparent Assignment Design.” In Creative Instructional Design: Practical Applications for Librarians, edited by Brandon K. West, Kimberly D. Hoffman, and Michelle Costello, 291–311. Atlanta: American Library Association, 2017.
- Leuzinger, Ryne and Grallo, Jacqui, “Reaching First- Generation and Underrepresented Students through Transparent Assignment Design.” (2019). Library Faculty Publications and Presentations. 11. https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/lib_fac/11
- Fuchs, Beth, “Pointing a Telescope Toward the Night Sky: Transparency and Intentionality as Teaching Techniques” (2018). Library Presentations. 188. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/libraries_present/188
- Ferarri, Franca; Salis, Andreas; Stroumbakis, Kostas; Traver, Amy; and Zhelecheva, Tanya, “Transparent Problem-Based Learning Across the Disciplines in the Community College Context: Issues and Impacts” (2015).NERA Conference Proceedings 2015. 9. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/nera-2015/9
- Milman, Natalie B. Tips for Success: The Online Instructor’s (Short) Guide to Making Assignment Descriptions More Transparent. Distance Learning. Greenwich Vol. 15, Iss. 4, (2018): 65-67. 3
- Winkelmes, M. (2023). Introduction to Transparency in Learning and Teaching. Perspectives In Learning, 20 (1). Retrieved from https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/pil/vol20/iss1/2
- Brown, J., et al. (2023). Perspectives in Learning: TILT Special Issue, 20 (1). Retrieved from https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/pil/vol20/iss1/
- Winkelmes, M. (2022). “Assessment in Class Meetings: Transparency Reduces Systemic Inequities.” In Henning, G. W., Jankowski, N. A., Montenegro, E., Baker, G. R., & Lundquist, A. E. (Eds.). (2022). Reframing Assessment to Center Equity: Theories, Models, and Practices. Stylus Publishing, LLC.
Citation: TILT Higher Ed © 2009-2023 by Mary-Ann Winkelmes. Retrieved from https://tilthighered.com/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.