Transparency in Learning and Teaching

Transparency in Learning and Teaching

When students come to instructors’ office hours or when they seek tutoring, they often have the following questions about their assignments: 

• What am I supposed to be doing in this assignment? 
• Why am I doing this? 
• How will I be evaluated? 

These questions come both from students who have read their assignment sheets carefully and from those who may have given them only a cursory glance. The problem is that many assignment sheets don’t provide clear or transparent answers to these three important questions. While some students can figure out what they are supposed to do in an assignment and why, many others struggle. First-year students may not understand the expectations for college-level work, and students taking courses in multiple disciplines may be dealing with very different guidelines. Students in these situations may spend much of their time trying to interpret an assignment rather than working on the assignment itself. The Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework helps all students succeed by prompting instructors to clearly describe the task, the purpose for the assignment, and the evaluation criteria. Applying the TILT framework to an assignment is a relatively simple and low-workload change that has a big impact on student success.

Evidence 

Research done by Mary-Ann Winkelmes (Winkelmes et. al., 2016 and 2019) has shown that transparent teaching methods help students perform better in individual courses, and using transparent teaching methods can have a broader impact on students’ persistence in college. Students taught using transparent teaching methods not only learn better, but they are also more likely to stay in college rather than dropping out. That research also indicates these benefits are even more significant among underrepresented minority groups or first-generation college students, helping to reduce achievement gaps. Research has demonstrated that the TILT framework works across disciplines. For example, a study by Cronmiller et. al. (2022) demonstrates that TILT “promotes learning, equity and critical thinking” in Human Biology and Anatomy and Physiology courses. Additionally, the official TILT website provides assignment examples in such disciplines as sociology, psychology, communications, criminal justice, environmental science, calculus, and finance. 

Implementation 

• Define the purpose by describing in 2-4 sentences how the assignment will help students meet course learning objectives as well as the demands of future courses and careers. 
• Describe in a paragraph or bullet points the task that students are to complete in the assignment, including the specific steps to follow.
• Note in 1-2 sentences the audience for the assignment (for example, the instructor, peers, a national or international audience). 
• Describe the criteria for success in a rubric. 

See the resources below for checklists and guides to creating transparent assignments.

Want to find out more? 

• CITL webpage about TILT
• Link to the Transparent Assignment template by Dr. Winkelmes
• Checklist for Designing Transparent Assignments
• TILT Higher Ed. Examples and Resources

Who is doing this at IU?

In her Geography of National Parks (E138) course, Elizabeth Kenderes (Earth and Atmospheric Sciences) provides students with several in-class assignments that are designed to build skills for the final project. Below are her purpose, task, audience, and evaluation criteria for one such assignment.

In his HR Management (V373) course, Daniel Grundmann (O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs) provides students with a series of five scaffolded assessments that are designed to help them build such course skills as evaluating different positions on an issue, analyzing evidence, and citing sources correctly. Below is one such assignment in the TILT format.

Citations