Assignment Design
Things to include in assignments
Assignments should include:
- Descriptive Title
- The unit-level outcomes that the assignment meets
- Clear and detailed instructions for the students on how to complete the assignment
- Information about what students should turn in
- Attached rubric
- Due date
- Optional Availability Date
Descriptive Title
Give each assignment a descriptive title. It's difficult for students to find what they are looking for if every assignment is called "Assignment 2."
Unit-Level Outcomes
Draw students' attention to the outcomes of your course by including unit-level outcomes with each assignment. This also allows you to reflect on whether the assessment is truly aligned with the outcomes. For example, if the objective is to be able to “write a persuasive essay,” but the assessment is a multiple-choice test, then the assessment is NOT meeting the outcome.
Clear and Detailed Instructions
Best practice is to always include instructions for every assignment in Canvas, even when giving the assignment in a face-to-face class. This allows students to review the instructions at their own pace, and also allows students who miss class the guidance they need. (Not to mention it prepares you for snow days, etc.)
The best guidance here is to put yourself in the situation of a student who missed class. Provide enough guidance that they will understand the assignment and what to do.
Information about what students will turn in
Even though Canvas provides some of this information (ie. file upload, paper submission, etc.) based on the assignment settings you use, it is best practice to give detailed instructions on WHAT students should turn in to you.
Attached Rubric
It's best practice to attach a rubric to every assignment. Guide on Rubrics.
Due Date
Assignments should always have due dates. Adding a due date to an assignment adds it to the students' to-do list, calendar, and assignments page in Canvas.
Do not create lists of assignments manually on your syllabus page. Canvas auto-generates the list of assignments on the syllabus page, based on their due dates. This ensures students do not see two different due dates for an assignment.
Dated assignments and pages show in the students' to-do list.
Dates assignments, pages, and events show in the students' calendars.
The syllabus automatically displays all published assignments with their due dates. Undated assignments all show together at the bottom.
Availability Dates
Assignment availability dates are optional. They allow you to set a "shut off" time when students can no longer submit an assignment. If you intend to no longer allow submissions, set this up in Canvas so students are clear on your expectations.
Student Submissions
PDF Submissions
We recommend NOT requiring PDF submissions unless necessary due to formatting, or in the case where students are submitting scans of handwritten work. Canvas renders most document types such as Word and PowerPoint documents correctly in SpeedGrader.
Limiting File Types
We recommend NOT limiting file types on submissions, unless absolutely necessary.
Student Names on Files
It is not necessary to ask students to add their name to assignment submissions, as Canvas adds this automatically (unless name is part of proper formatting for an assignment).
Reading Assignments
Ensuring students complete assigned reading can be a challenge. We recommend creating small, low-stakes formative assessments, such as self-graded multiple choice quizzes to accompany important reading.
We do not recommend creating assignments that only ask students to read something. If you are not assessing students, do not create an assignment.
If you want a particular reading to show up in students' calendars and to-do list, a better option is creating a page in Canvas with background information, instructions on what the students are to read, and what they are to look for in the reading, and then while editing the page, choose to "add to student-to-do." You can then add a due date to the page.
