Assignments are valuable methods of analyzing a students knowledge. From humble problem sets, all the way through to complex cases, they're possible on Blended Teaching. To help with course building, we've prepared a range of pre-built auto-graded assignments that you can plug and play into your class.
1. Introducing Blended Teaching Assignments
Blended Teaching provides a selection of pre-built assignments which you can use out of the box. They are typically related to specific concepts covered in one, or more chapters.
A typical Blended Teaching assignment is made up of three parts:
The narrative
The quiz
The feedback
1.1 The Narrative
Each assignment is a story, that resembles a fictitious, but realistic scenario. The complexity of the scenario, and the difficulty of the assignment will vary with level of class and chapter(s) that the assignment relates to.
Each assignment includes:
Instructions on how to complete the assignment.
1-3 scenario pages, which layout the scenario, the tasks required by the student, and provides any data needed to solve the problem.
Students typically (although not always) download an attached template workbook, where they can work through the questions in a guided fashion.
1.2 The Quiz
Each Blended Teaching Assignment is graded based on 15 MCQs which are provided in the scenarios laid out in the Narrative section above. The quiz is the mechanism for grading the assignment, while file uploads (if applicable) are for you to review as needed.
But these are no ordinary MCQs:
We use 15 MCQs as this allows for differentiated grading between a, A+, A-. B+, B-, etc. If we used less questions, some grades would not be achievable.
Each MCQ usually has 10 potential answers (although not always). The reason we want so many, is that we want to take away the ability for students to guess the correct answer.
Students must select the answer option closest to the answer that they calculate. For example, they may calculate the answer to be 56.2%, and they have to choose the closes answer option from the (usually) 10 provided. The answers do not exactly match the correct answer. This is to prevent students guessing the methodology and getting an answer that matches the correct answer. By taking away the feedback loop, students must commit to an approach.
Once a student completes the quiz, and submits it, it will be auto-graded.
1.2.1 Template files (if applicable)
Some Assignments also include Template files for students to complete their work. For example, a template file may provide a blank balance sheet, or pro forma for students to fill in and adjust as instructed.
The questions in the quiz ask about key calculations and results from the workings they have done in these files. You may decide to require to students to upload these to see how they achieved their selected answers in the quiz. Please note the files themselves are not auto-graded.
1.3 The Feedback
There are 3 stages in which students could ask you for feedback.
Before submission
Between submissions (if you are providing multiple attempts)
After the due date
1.3.1 Before Submission
When students are working on the assignment, if they are confused, they may come to you for advice during office hours, or send you an email. To help you support students effectively, we provide 2 support mechanisms:
Solutions. You can download a full submission for your assignment in the Instructor Resources on Control Center. Just search for the assignment name on the Instructor Resources pages.
Student Support Videos. This is a pre-prepared video that discusses the assignment with students, walking them through the questions and identifying important concepts. It does not give them the answer, but usually gives enough of a hint to allow students to self-solve. This video is available to instructors in Instructor Resources, and to students when they complete the assignment (if permitted in the assignment settings). More details on how to share these with students later in this article.
1.3.2 Between Submissions
If you allow multiple attempts for students, you can decide how much feedback the student receives in the Settings for the assignment. Options include:
Grade only
Grade plus student's answers
Grade plus student's answers, plus correct / incorrect
Grade plus student's answers, plus correct / incorrect, plus feedback (student support video)
Grade, plus student's answers, plus correct / incorrect, plus feedback (student support video), plus correct answers
The choice is yours!
1.4 After the Due Date
Finally, after the due date, it's common to share more detailed feedback for students. Same as above, you have plenty of options to choose from in the Settings for the assignment. No need to repeat here.
2. Adding Assignments to your Class
If you would like to add a Blended Teaching assignment to your class, you first need the assignment in your Quizzes tab. If you don't see Blended Teaching assignments in your Quizzes tab, contact us through Blended Bot, or [email protected] and we let you know which are available for your textbook.
Once they are available in your Quizzes tab, follow these steps to make them live in your class:
Go to the Quizzes tab.
Find your assignment, go to the 3 dots on the right and select Settings.
Review the Settings and make sure they match what you want.
Click save after making any changes.
Go back to the Quizzes tab, find the assignment, click the 3 dots on the right and select Publish.
Once the assignment quiz is published in the Quizzes tab, follow these steps to add the assignment to your Course Structure so it's visible to students:
Go to the Course Structure tab.
Find a module in which you want to add the assignment.
Click + Add Assessment
Select the assignment you want to add.
Make sure it is published in Course Structure (the should be a green tick, if not, click on the tick to publish it - it should go green).
Now it's live and in your textbook, you should link it into Canvas or Blackboard using your usual method. A guide on adding content to your LMS can be found below:
3. Grading Assignments
3.1 Seeing All The Grades
To easily see who has submitted their assignment, and the distribution of grades, go to the Gradebook.
To access the Gradebook:
Go to the Gradebook tab in the Control Center.
Scroll down to find the table, and scroll across until you find the relevant assignment.
You can use the Filter and Search tools to narrow down your search.
3.2 Seeing Individual Answers
If you want to dive deeper into the answers each student made, for their various attempts, head over to the Moderate page for the assignment.
4. FAQ
4.1 What are your recommended assignment settings?
You can view our recommended assignment settings here.
How do I share the student support video with a student?
To share a student support video with students before they submit the assignment:
Ask the bot "Give me the link to the student support video for [name of the assignment]"
The bot will give you a link that you can copy and share with students.
4.2 How do I access the student support video?
You can access the student support video using 2 different methods:
Ask the Bot for the link
Go to your Control Center, navigate to Instructor Resources, then Assignment Solutions, and look for the video relating to the assignment.
4.3 Why are there file uploads if grades are based on the quiz?
Most instructors find file uploads helpful when students have questions about their grades or the calculations behind their answers. The uploaded file allows you to review the work students completed to arrive at the responses they selected on the quiz.
In each assignment, students use the provided templates to perform their calculations. The quiz then assesses the key results from that work, along with related conceptual understanding. The files themselves are not auto-graded.