Creating Effective Assignments

This chapter explores the second step of Backwards Design: designing assignments. We start with introducing a five-step design process that is informed by the Transparency in Learning and Teaching project. Those steps are: Reflect; Determine Purpose; Define the Task; Establish Criteria for Success; Space, Scaffold, and Practice. After walking through each stage of the model, we review the most common assignment types offered in political science courses (exams, papers, presentations, small-stakes assignments, and signature works) with some relevant examples provided.