Course Assignments

[HigherEd7]

Is there a standard or a recommended number of assignments you should assign to students during the semester? I get excited right before the semester and develop these great assignments and forget, I have to grade them which can be rather tiresome and time consuming. 

[Caracal]

Is there a standard or a recommended number of assignments you should assign to students during the semester? I get excited right before the semester and develop these great assignments and forget, I have to grade them which can be rather tiresome and time consuming.

Depends a lot on the discipline and the level of the class as well as how big an assignment you're talking about.

[HigherEd7]

Is there a set standard of assignments for a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior level course for all disciplines that one should follow?

[Parasaurolophus]

Is there a set standard of assignments for a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior level course for all disciplines that one should follow?

No?

My university, however, does have a set assessment profile for every course (I'm not a huge fan). For one of mine this semester, it's four tests, "participation", and two essays. For my other, five tests and a final exam, plus "participation". These are 35-person classes.

[HigherEd7]

Thanks for the response, the reason I ask is I think I am doing to much and it is very time consuming trying to grade everything. In one of my courses I have 2 exams, weekly unannounced quizzes to get my students to read, participation questions at the end of the class, and three assignments for 38 students.

[0susanna]

Thanks for the response, the reason I ask is I think I am doing to much and it is very time consuming trying to grade everything. In one of my courses I have 2 exams, weekly unannounced quizzes to get my students to read, participation questions at the end of the class, and three assignments for 38 students.

That does sound like a lot, but I can also understand that with a class that size the quizzes and participation questions might be all that is keeping them engaged and on track. You might be able to grade them in a bundle rather than day by day, or use some kind of automated system--scantrons or clickers--that will keep score for you? Then you can focus on the exams and larger assignments.

[sprout]

There's way too much variability to give a global answer.  Ask your colleagues what they do and see how your class compares.  If no one else is teaching the same class as you are, ask people who are teaching similar classes at a similar level. 

And, minimize the grading work where you can, like making your reading quizzes multiple choice or super-short, or just grade for completion.

[HigherEd7]

Sounds great and thank you for your response. I get more feedback from other professors in other departments then I do colleagues in our school they act like it's a secret and they are trying to win a popularity contest. 

[Caracal]

Thanks for the response, the reason I ask is I think I am doing to much and it is very time consuming trying to grade everything. In one of my courses I have 2 exams, weekly unannounced quizzes to get my students to read, participation questions at the end of the class, and three assignments for 38 students.

You also might consider some sort of reading response that is basically a 100 or a 0. I used to do things like quizzes and it was just a nightmare to grade. Reading responses you can just glance quickly at to make sure the student did it and check it off online.

[artalot]

I have a course that enrolls about 40 and I use online multiple choice questions to get them to do the non-text book reading. They reward students for doing the reading, since they can re-take the quizzes until they get 100%. And I don't have to grade them.
I'd cut down the assignments to two, especially if they are essays/papers. I used to do three and it was a nightmare. Now I have just two: in one all the students read the same sources and argue for one side or another; in another students pick a source from a set list to analyze. Since the range of topics and responses is small they are easier to grade - I know exactly what I'm looking for.

[spork]

I typically have 25-30 short writing assignments per semester-long course. I grade the assignments using simple rubrics with two or three criteria.

If I don't have these assignments, students see no reason to read the material listed in the syllabus.