How to Increase Transparency in Your Course

by Toni DiMella

The beginning of the semester is a busy, and often overwhelming, time. In our rush to “get everything done”, it’s easy to forget that we’re experts in our field and have years of academic experience. What seems obvious to us, both in terms of content and procedure, can be unclear to the student. We have all had late-night emails with questions about how to do an assignment or where to find materials…and we’ve all thought “Didn’t you read the fill-in-random-communication-tool-here?!” Sometimes we’re right, they didn’t read the email (sigh), but sometimes we just weren’t as clear as we thought we were.

So how do you bridge that communication gap? By increasing the transparency of the course and explicitly stating what students will need to do, why, and how. Here are some quick tips on how to increase the transparency of your course:

  • Provide a schedule of assignments with due dates. This helps students organize their time, particulary around midterm and final exam time. Try to stick to the schedule as much as possible. Everyone knows there might be a need to move things back a day or so, but have a reason for the change and share that reason with your students.
  • List the tools and resources students will need during the semester. Do they need to access material in the library? Tell them where to go in the library (and maybe where the library is too!). Are there support systems available, like tutoring? Let them know that and how to access them. Is there software they need to download? Give them the URL, directions on how to do it, and provide any information about cost and technical requirements.
  • Clearly label the connections between readings, activities, assignments, and outcomes. If one of your course outcomes is “LO1: Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of preparation of Financial Statements” and Chapter 1 is about creating balance sheets make sure that students know reading Chapter 1, completing the Chapter 1 practice problems, and then taking the Chapter 1 quiz collectively leads to achieving that student learning outcome. You can do this with naming conventions that reference which learning outcomes are being targeted, like Chapter 1 Quiz: Balance Sheets (LO1), and noting the learning pathway. This brings me to my last tip!
  • Be explicit about your expectations. Clearly labeling what students need to do helps students navigate their educational work more successfully, increases students’ sense of belonging, and improves retention rates, particularly for underrepresented and first-generation college students. Using the TILT assignment framework to share with students the purpose, task, and success criteria provides students with a clear picture of what your expectations are. And when students know what you want, they are more likely to give it to you. 

Added Bonus: Transparent assignments help students realize what skills they are learning and what they are used for!

Winkelmes et al., 2016

So as you wrap up your revisions for the next semester, re-read your directions one more time through a student lens. Better yet, find a colleague who is not in your field to read your assignment directions and see what questions they ask you. You might be surprised what they come up with!

Explore examples and resources from the Transparency in Learning and Teaching Project to learn how to make your assignments more transparent, accessible, and equitable!