Culminating Projects and assessment

There are three Culminating Projects for the course. One is focused on print, one on stand-alone presentation, and one on multi-modal presentation. I am pleased with the projects, and think that they will lead to quality products that are relevant to the students' workplace or community, and relevant as professional portfolio examples.

But, here's my problem. I don't like creating assessment tools for projects. I'm not good at it. It is really time-consuming to do it well. And, I have to do it because people need to know how they are being assessed. So, my next task is to get those finalized. I have drafts for all three projects, but once I post them to the course they are real...and we all have to live with them.

I'm not sure why I struggle so much with this part of teaching. I always have. I just want to provide the directions and assume that everyone will simply follow the directions and do their best. Grade = A. But, that isn't very realistic. And, again, adult learners are simply too busy -- have too many demands on their time -- to live in that much ambiguity about assessment. A little ambiguity is fine. In fact, it is the way of the world, of living in the world. But, too much ambiguity in this context leads to frustration and disconnection. So, I will get it done.

I find that searching the Internet for examples of how others have assessed this, that, or the other thing, to be very helpful. That is what I did this time too. It makes a difference because it gives me ideas, shows me alternative approaches and structures, pushes me to be better.