Strategies for Designing Effective Assignments in the Digital Age

Create assignments and requirements that are unique enough to reduce the possibility that students could submit papers from other sources. Encourage students to value the assignment and do their own work by using some of these strategies.

1. Provide students with explicit guidelines for the paper. Include information concerning copyright compliance, citing sources, requesting permissions and penalties for plagiarism. Spend time in class discussing these issues.

2. Require specific components in the paper. For example, information resources must include: two Web sites, two printed books, two periodicals (print or on-line), one personal interview and one personally conducted survey or experiment. Web sites require prior approval by the teacher. Depending on the assignment, students might be required to include a graph, table or other means of analyzing the information.

3. Ask students to indicate exactly where they located each source (i.e. school library media center, West Hartford Public Library, local academic libraries, Connecticut State Library, Connecticut Historical Society). Requiring an annotated bibliography rather than just a list of sources helps ensure that the student did his or her own research.

4. Ask students to present their papers orally and respond to questions on their topic.

5. Provide a specific list of topics for students to choose from and change the topics for each semester.

6. Familiarize yourself with each student’s writing ability. Consider assigning several shorter papers in place of one paper due at the end of the term.

7. Request the original copy of the paper. Photocopies are not acceptable.

8. Encourage students to use copyright free clip art or their own images in presentations.

9. Consult with the library media specialist to ensure that there are sufficient information resources available to support your assignment.

10. Request that your students present preliminary information on their topic to determine if they are finding appropriate resources.

11. Provide the library media specialist with a copy of the assignment so that we can assist students in the research process.

12. Schedule your classes for instruction in the library media center, which includes the use of the Internet as an information resource and the evaluation of Internet resources.

13. Familiarize yourself with the use of the Internet and key sites for your subject area.

14. Since Internet sites appear, disappear or move, ask students to photocopy the first page of the Internet site used and submit it with the final project. Typically, this page provides information that documents the credibility of the resource.

15. Encourage students to use scholarly Internet directories (i.e. INFOMINE: Scholarly Internet Resource Collections, Librarian’s Index to the Internet).

16. Engage students in learning by providing alternative presentations (i.e. videotapes, debates, slide-tape shows, WebQuests, panel discussions, multimedia presentations using software such as PowerPoint).

Adapted from the following resources:

Galles, Gary M. “Copy These Strategies to Stop Plagiarism by Students.” 28 Sept. 1997.

Online. Internet. 09 Apr. 1999. <http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/editorial/97/09/29/galles.0-0.html>.

Harris, Robert. “Anti-Plagiarism Strategies for Use in Assigning Research Papers.” 26

June 1997. Online. Internet. 09 Apr. 1999. <http://www.sccu.edu/faculty/R_Harris/antiplag>.

Ronkowski, Shirley, Ph. D. “Strategies to Promote Academic Integrity.” 1996. Online.

Internet. 09 Apr. 1999.

<http://www.id.ucsb.edu/IC/Resources/Teaching/Integrity.html>.

“Safety Measures for Effective Research Assignments Using the Internet.” Online.

Internet. 12 Apr. 1999. <http://lasalle.edu/library/research.htm>.