The Impact of Transparent Instructions Upon Academic Confidence and Writing Performance

Recent demographic changes in college enrollment have led to an increased emphasis on retaining students. High-impact practices such as transparent assignments are one possible way to encourage student retention, but more empirical data related to student outcomes are needed. In this quasi-experimental study, students received either transparent or standard instructions for written assignments and completed a survey of academic confidence. A pre-test/post-test design was used to examine potential differences associated with instruction type. Results indicated no significant differences in essay scores or survey responses between conditions, and there were no consistent trends indicating improved performance in the transparent condition. Implications for future research, including examining specific elements of transparent instructions, the ideal balance of parsimony and detail, and nondemographic student characteristics such as experience and motivation, are discussed