Improving Learning Outcomes through Better Assignments

A key research finding from AAC&U’s VALUE (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) project is that what faculty ask students to do in assignments strongly affects how well they do it. Indeed, assignments are not only key as an assessment of learning but also integral as an act of pedagogy, a teaching strategy that can be both improved and mastered. With both learning and assessment in mind, this session will highlight a new tool from AAC&U called the VALUE ADD (Assignment Design and Development) Tool for Critical Thinking. This tool is intended to help faculty develop and/or revise an assignment designed to produce student work that develops and accurately demonstrates students’ critical thinking abilities and can serve to improve learning outcomes in face-to-face, hybrid, and online environments.