Assignment Design Workshops

Charrettes can take a few different forms, depending on the size of the group. What they have in common is faculty talking in small groups about actual assignments they give to students. (This is about the assignments themselves, not the work students submit in response to the assignments.) Each participant chooses an assignment to share and either provides copies in advance or brings copies to the workshop. 

For in-person charrettes, participants sit in groups of 4-6. Online charrettes include 3-4 participants gathering by video (e.g., Google Meet, Zoom). A facilitator explains the process and manages the time. Participants then take turns presenting their assignment and receiving feedback.

Each “round” of the charrette takes about 25-30 minutes. For the first five minutes, one participant explains the assignment they brought for review. Then the other group members spend 15 minutes offering constructive feedback and asking questions to help the author see the assignment through fresh eyes. Finally, group members spend five minutes writing down feedback that the author can take away with them. Then the group begins a new round with another person’s assignment. The process repeats for as many rounds as needed, or as long as time allows. 

Anyone who teaches or gives assignments can benefit from participating in a charrette. SCHEV-sponsored charrettes are open to all instructors, regardless of rank or discipline.

Email JodiFisler@schev.edu if you would like to be informed about upcoming online or regional in-person charrettes. 

Some campuses organize charrettes for their own faculty or for members of particular departments. Contact your institution’s assessment office or teaching and learning center to see what opportunities may be available.

The charrette organizer should let you know what you need to do for your particular workshop. In general, participants are asked to do the following:

Watch "Unfacilitated Assignment Design on Your Campus". This 36-minute video from the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) explains why assignment design matters and also explains the charrette process.

Select an assignment for review. This can be a draft of a new assignment, an old assignment that needs to be refreshed or an assignment that just doesn’t work as well as you’d like. Assignments should be written (or translated into) English. Avoid choosing an assignment that you absolutely love or that you can't change (e.g., a practice test from the textbook). Remember, the point of the charrette is to get constructive feedback that you can use to improve your assignment.

Write a reflective memo to share with your group. Use this reflective memo template unless your facilitator tells you otherwise. (Past participants have said this memo is very helpful for assignment authors and reviewers alike.)

If your facilitator asks your group to share assignments and memos in advance, please submit your own materials by the requested date. Read your fellow group members’ materials before the workshop. That will make your time during the charrette much more productive.

Organizing a charrette means inviting people to participate, securing a facilitator (you or someone else), and arranging any necessary logistics for the workshop.

If the charrette will involve more than 5-6 participants, the organizer will need to decide whether to assign participants to tables or allow people to sit where they wish. Assigning people to tables has two advantages: (1) participants can share their assignments with their tablemates in advance, and (2) the organizer can make sure the tables are not dominated by a single discipline. (Past participants have reported great value in receiving feedback from people outside their own discipline, if possible.)

Organizers and facilitators should communicate about who will send information and instructions to the participants. Links to sample communications and other materials for participants are included under the resources question below.

Facilitating a charrette means introducing participants to the charrette concept and guiding them through the feedback process. Depending on the size and nature of the event, the introduction might be a formal presentation about assignment design or it might be a very brief overview of the charrette timeline.

If the group is small or if time is tight, organizers/facilitators can ask participants to watch “Unfacilitated Assignment Design on Your Campus” ahead of time. This 36-minute video from the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) explains why assignment design matters and also explains the charrette process. (The video also may be helpful to facilitators who want to do their own formal introduction. NILOA’s slides are available in the Assignment Charrette Toolkit for facilitators to modify and use as needed.) If participants have seen the video in advance, facilitators can move very quickly into the feedback portion of the charrette.

The feedback portion consists of a series of 25- or 30-minute rounds. Each round is designed as follows:

• Reading (5 minutes) – group members read the assignment to be reviewed. (If assignments were shared in advance, this section can be eliminated.)
• Introduction (5 minutes) – the assignment author introduces the assignment (e.g., its purpose, how it has worked in the past, concerns the author has about it)
• Verbal feedback (15 minutes) – group members offer feedback on the assignment to the author. Although the author can answer clarifying questions, the author’s primary role during this section should be listening and taking notes.
• Written feedback (5 minutes) – group members write down feedback for the author to take away.

The facilitator’s main job during the feedback portion is to manage the time. If there are several tables of participants, the facilitator generally observes the room and announces when it is time to move from one section to the next. If the group is very small and everyone is seated at one table, the facilitator can also manage the group dynamics (e.g., ensuring that everyone has a chance to speak). Facilitators can also offer feedback on the assignments, but they should be careful not to dominate the conversation or lose track of the time.

After all of the assignments have been reviewed, facilitators can invite participants to reflect briefly on the experience. Did participants notice any common issues coming up in the feedback? Did they learn something that they could apply to other assignments?

The National Institute of Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) provides extensive resources to support assignment design work. The Assignment Charrette Toolkit includes conceptual information about assignment charrettes, a planning guide for organizers, sample invitations and evaluations, handouts and real examples of how institutions have adapted and used the charrette model. These materials may be used "as is" or modified to suit your needs.

SCHEV has also compiled a number of resources that facilitators/organizers may modify and use as they see fit. Each of these links will open as a Word document.

• Sample communications: invitations and instructions for participants in both online and in-person charrettes
• Reflective memo template: sent to participants in advance
• Charrette facilitation guidelines: appropriate for both online and in-person charrettes