Planning a Research Assignment: Checklist
The Communication of the Assignment to Students
_____Have you developed a student-friendly, explicit assignment sheet?
_____Does it provide a context (explanation/background/rationale) for the activity?
_____Does it give details about final form expectations (external features, requirements)?
_____Does it list habits of mind (See DOL 5) necessary for success?
_____Does it include reminders?
_____Does it describe the task explicitly?
(Note: One tool is the GRASP model.)
_____Are the discipline’s relevant content standards included?
_____Are the Language Arts Standards included?
_____Is/Are the Essential Question(s) of the course/unit included?
_____Must students submit (CHECK THOSE THAT APPLY):
_____notes
_____print-outs
_____tentative thesis or hypothesis or question
_____outline/organizer
_____multiple drafts
_____Works Cited/Works Consulted
_____Annotations
_____Draft of Works Consulted/Works Cited
_____Do you give students a checkpoint calendar?
_____Have you built in opportunities for conferencing?
_____Does the activity ask students to use higher order thinking skills? CHECK THOSE THAT APPLY:
_____Analyze
_____Synthesize
_____Compare and contrast
_____Evaluate/Assess/Judge/Critique/Appraise
_____Make connections
_____Propose/Persuade
_____Justify
_____Conclude
_____Infer
_____Deduce/Induce
_____Design/Compose
_____Construct/Plan/Invent
_____Does the activity require a research process? (See Research CheckBric)
_____planning
_____gathering
_____Does the activity require multiple sources?
_____Does it specify a required number of online and library sources?
_____Does it specify a required percentage of online and library sources including both print and materials from subscription databases?
_____Does the activity require students to weigh/manipulate more than one perspective?
_____organizing
_____documenting
_____reflecting
_____Does the activity include a reflective component (e.g., Acknowledgements, Preface, Introduction, Commentary, journal, etc.)?
_____Have you provided an explicit rubric at the start of the activity so that students know how their work will be assessed?
_____Is the rubric assignment-specific (as opposed to a generic rubric)?
_____Is the rubric specific in its criteria?
_____Are all required aspects of the assignment assessed?
_____Does the rubric describe performance levels?
_____Does the rubric value and assess process (See Research CheckBric)
_____Does the rubric value high quality (scholarly) sources? (See CARRDSS)
_____Does the rubric value accurate in-text/in-project documentation?
_____Does the rubric assess a reflective component?
_____Have you avoided assumptions and anticipated misunderstandings
_____Have you asked a colleague to role play a student’s perspective on the clarity of the assignment and rubric?
Developed by Carol H. Rohrbach with revision input from Joyce Kasman Valenza
School District of Springfield Twp. (2002)