The Virginia Educational Development Collaborative, in partnership with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), is conducting a cross-institutional educational development initiative and applied research project on transparent assignment design. The goal of the project is to better understand the potential role of transparent assignments in addressing equity gaps in higher education. 

Read an article in AAC&U about the Virginia-TILT project: “Ridiculously Simple and Very Successful”

Project Background

The overarching problem that is being addressed with this project is that of inequitable outcomes for low-income, first-generation, Black/Latino/Hispanic students. Research demonstrates that typically underserved students begin college at slightly lower rates, and complete college at much lower rates, than their peers from more privileged backgrounds. Along the way, underserved students spend more time in remedial coursework, are more likely to drop out without completing a degree or credential or transferring to a four-year institution, report earning lower course grades, are less likely to participate in more highly remunerative majors, are more likely to be working more than 20 hours a week or have family responsibilities while they’re in school, and are less likely to take advantage of student support services. These factors, and more, contribute to students’ lack of academic confidence and sense of belonging, which are linked to improved student outcomes in the form of retention and higher grades. 

Background of Transparency in Learning & Teaching (TILT)

One important way that instructors can positively contribute to student success is by implementing transparent design. Transparent design is a method of designing course assignments that allow students to better understand the purpose of the assignment, how it will be assessed, and to connect the assignment to their broader course context and personal academic goals. Research on transparency in assignment design from the AAC&U and TILT Higher Ed as well as other studies implementing transparent design shows us that students perform better when assignments are made clear: when students know what is being asked of them, and why. Transparency is particularly of benefit to students without a strong academic history, without disadvantaging other students. 

The specific teaching intervention, developed by Dr. Mary-Ann Winkelmes and the AAC&U, is called TILT: Transparency in Learning and Teaching. TILT is a practice-oriented method that asks instructors to better articulate their expectations for students. The method asks instructors to make three changes to how they present an assignment by making explicit: (1) the assignment’s purpose, (2) framing the assignment in terms of tasks to be completed, and (3) making clear the criteria by which an assignment will be judged successful. Beyond explicit articulation of the assignment, TILT aims also to connect the task both to the course learning outcomes and to students’ personal and professional goals. 

The goal of this project is to explore how college instructors can make small changes to course assignments that are designed to increase transparency, positively impact students’ academic confidence and sense of belonging, and lead to higher-quality student work. Broadly, this project will contribute to our understanding of how best to design coursework for a diverse student population and will work to increase equitable outcomes for typically underserved students. Further, by investigating a teaching methodology grounded in transparency and equity, this project will ask instructors to reflect on their role in pursuing equity of outcomes, and not just equity of access. By focusing on what instructors can do to make small changes to their teaching practices, this project will demonstrate that small, research-based interventions can have large impacts.

Presentations