Higher ed hosts a bewildering number of professors who 1.) fail to provide examples of completed projects and assignments, 2.) actively avoid examples on the premise of promoting creativity, and 3.) presumably enjoy a comfort zone of non-clarity.
Possible Solutions:
Rubrics and Examples
- Rubrics clarify assignment expectations, guiding students on where to spend their energy and creativity.
- Rubrics support teachers in grading neutrally, quickly, and clearly.
- Examples communicate vast amounts of information about quality, completeness, and acceptable work.
- Multiple examples inspire creativity instead of limiting it.
"Two or more vastly different examples of successful A-grade assignments encourage student inferences and higher-order critical analysis. Multiple examples expand creativity rather than limiting it." —NRS
Addressing Privacy/Copyright Issues
Get written permission from previous students to display their work.
Bite the bullet. Start from scratch and create new project examples yourself.
State copyright and ownership of the work clearly the course introduction, including that students may not copy or reuse the examples provided.
Define plagiarism clearly—with examples--and reiterate the school’s policies. Many international students bring vastly different cultural and institutional perspectives on plagiarism, citations, original work, sharing, cheating, etc.
