Assignments with Impact: Innovative Assignments and Feedback Strategies to Engage Students

With a seemingly endless array of assignment options available to assess student learning, designing engaging, effective assessments can be a challenge. Complicating the issue, faculty must create an integrated, yet varied, approach to assessment that balances an emphasis on student learning with practical barriers associated with grading and feedback. This workshop will help faculty create a holistic assessment plan that simultaneously promotes engagement, measures student learning, and informs teaching… all with time and priority management in mind. We will explore strategies for designing and integrating dynamic, engaging assignments in relation to eight broad categories of learning outcomes (critical thinking; problem solving, performance, personal development, information literacy, knowledge demonstration, design/creation, and communication). Beyond traditional reliance on exams and papers, this workshop will outline a decision-making process to help instructors identify (and create) innovative assignments and develop efficient strategies for providing meaningful feedback. Biography Dr. Jean Mandernach is Executive Director of the Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching at Grand Canyon University. Her research focuses on enhancing student learning in the online classroom through innovative instructional and assessment strategies. She explores strategies for integrating efficient online instruction in a manner that maximizes student learning, satisfaction, and engagement