Every course has assignments, but do they get the attention they deserve or do the same versions end up in the syllabus year after year? How much variety is there in the assignments students complete, in degree programs or even across their years at the institution? Bottom line: we think there’s more that could be done with assignments, and this feature aims to provide examples that illustrate innovative approaches and thoughtful attention to design details.
Last fall The Teaching Professor introduced a new feature that highlights exemplary assignments. Each Assignment of Note distills the salient points of a scholarly article on a particular type of assignment and presents it all in an easily digestible format. When possible, we’ve reached out to the author of the original journal article for an update on what they’ve learned since publication. The assignment featured below addresses the issue of how to get students to do the reading in ways that develop college-level reading skills. We’re sharing it here on Faculty Focus to offer readers a glimpse of just some of the great content available on the new Teaching Professor site.
Briefly described: Students take notes on assigned readings using teacher-provided templates. Students use their notes to facilitate discussions that occur in reading groups. The teacher uses excerpts from student notes as discussion fodder and to illustrate the level of thinking that makes student notes valuable in discussion and learning.
Problems the assignment addresses:
- Gets students coming to class having done the reading
- Gets students involved in discussions with peers who have more to share than just their opinions
Learning skills the assignment promotes:
- Guidance provided by the templates develops note-taking skills
- Students get the chance to see how notes can be used to improve the quality of discussion
- Teacher use of content from student notes adds value and purpose to their note-taking
Details and logistics: The templates illustrate different ways of responding to reading; for example, generating questions about it, connecting it with content in other courses or relevant experiences, identifying key passages, generating lists of essential words and phrases, and exploring a significant quotation. Students may select which template they use. The teacher encourages them to try different ones.
Reading groups are formed randomly using the college LMS. They change every four weeks so that students have a chance to interact with different people in the course.
The teacher may interrupt group discussions with an observation or question. Students go from discussion in their groups to whole-class discussion, at which time the teacher displays insightful excerpts from student notes to facilitate discussion and to provide examples of good note-taking.
Grading: This is a required assignment. Students submit their notes electronically 24 hours before class. The teacher uses a simple rubric to provide brief feedback and to prevent the assignment from becoming an added grading burden. Each set of notes is worth up to two points and they are returned before class.
Evidence of the assignment’s effectiveness: Students responded favorably to an anonymous electronic survey, although not everyone “loves” the assignment. It’s the “kind of preparation that takes more time than simply reading and showing up to talk.” (p. 151)
Resources included in the article: Four sample note-taking templates and the rubric used to grade the notes appear in the article.
An update from the author (email correspondence 6/18/18): “One pitfall to watch for: Some of the templates invite students to draw connections to their own experience. In some subject areas, such as my own field of education, that invitation can lead students to focus inward and simply tell their own stories. While I value those stories, they can limit the likelihood that students will move through simply retelling experience to the kind of connective, expansive thinking I want them to do. This pitfall is one I always teach students about early, using examples of responses that simply tell stories and responses that use stories to think critically about the reading. With a little instruction, most students are able to make the shift.
I am currently teaching mostly doctoral students and do not want to give them a task that’s quite as directive as the reading notes. I do carry some of the lessons from the reading notes assignment into every course I teach, though. With doctoral students, instead of the notes as an out-of-class assignment using the templates, I hand out 4 x 6 index cards and simply ask the students to write for a minute or two about whatever common text we might have read; then they move into small groups and finally full class discussion. These students tell me that the simple act of quickly reviewing the text and jotting their notes helps their thinking gel and jump-starts the small-group discussion. I often collect the cards not for grading, but just to get that glimpse into their individual thinking.”
Citation: West, J. (2018). Raising the quality of discussion by scaffolding students’ reading. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 30 (1), 146-160. [open access journal]
Other articles in the Assignments of Note collection.
Responding to Feedback Via a Cover Letter
The Rotating Note Taker
Post-Exam Review Activity
The Reading Quiz Shake-up
Reprinted from The Teaching Professor. © Magna Publications. All rights reserved.
