What Is Transparent Instruction?

Transparent methods in teaching and learning focus on how students interact with and learn course content, why instructors guide student learning experience in specific ways, and how students will incorporate classroom learning experiences into the real world (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). When students see how they learn, not just what they are learning, they practice metacognitive skills that increase their awareness of their strengths and weaknesses as learners which aids in the transference or adapting of course-specific learning to other classes or to the fields they are pursuing (Bresciani Ludvik, 2016).

What Does the Research Indicate?

Research studies indicate that assignments designed with transparency and clear purpose statements are equitable and evidence-based practices in teaching and learning. Students who received more transparent assignment instructions with emphasis on the purposes, tasks, and real-world applications of learning experienced higher levels of academic confidence, as well as academic and metacognitive awareness of the skills they were practicing and developing (Winkelmes et al., 2016). Further, studies have shown that undergraduate students who received more transparent instruction in their first-year of college have higher retention rates (15.5% increase for 1-year retention and 13.9% increase in 2-year retention) and increased persistence and success in higher education when compared with the average retention of first-year students (Winkelmes et al., 2019).

How to Create Transparent Purpose Statements in Assignments

A purpose statement in an assignment provides students with tools for learning ownership.

When writing a transparent purpose statement (Hattie 2009; 2023), a student should be able to:

• See the skills they will practice and what they are learning from the experience.
• Determine the content knowledge gained.
• Recognize how the assignment builds upon or adds to prior learning experiences.
• Understand how the skills and content can be used beyond the course and college classroom.

Examples

Tasks and steps are still an important part of an assignment, but they should not be the first thing a student sees. Here are examples of task-based assignment prompts that were redesigned to include a transparent purpose statement:

Less Transparent Example: SCI 101 Scientific Evidence 

Read through your example scientific poster and answer the following questions.  

Title of your example poster: ____________________________________ 

1. What is the ethical question that is being asked?
2. What pieces of evidence do they provide in support of and in opposition to their question?
   • In opposition:
   • In support:
3. Are the pieces of evidence from peer-reviewed scientific sources (look at the reference to be sure)?
4. How are the pieces of evidence presented (numbers, graphs, tables, figures)?
5. How are the pieces of evidence analyzed in the Discussion section?
6. What is the ethical conclusion?
7. Do the pieces of evidence support their conclusion? Why or why not?
8. Are you convinced by their evidence of their ethical conclusion? Why or why not?
9. What questions do you still have after reading this poster? What could they have done better?

Note: Notice that in the less transparent example, students are given a task and the questions they need to answer. 

More Transparent Example: SCI 101 Scientific Evidence - Exercise 3  

Who to Collaborate with to Create Transparent Purpose Statements?

• Your students: Ask your students what they think of the assignment. Enlist their help in getting feedback.
  • Ask what they think the purpose is and what they are learning by doing the assignment. Inquire as to whether they can tell why they are being asked to complete the assignment and what they will learn from it.
• Colleagues: Your colleagues, especially those in your department, are great resources for collaboration to create more transparent assignments.
  • Your colleagues all share the same students with you and will have insight into what they believe students are learning or what students should be learning by completing the assignment.
  • Colleagues outside of your department can also serve as an important sounding board to review the assignment for clarity. If they have questions, it is likely students will as well.
• Technologies: There are an increasing amount of technologies that can help with creating more transparent and purposeful assignments.
  • Generative AI can be a resource to get started, review expert or novice language in an assignment prompt, or suggest additional clarity for a purpose statement. Try entering your assignment prompt and associated course learning outcomes into an AI model (e.g., Chat GPT or Google Gemini) and ask it what the purpose of the assignment is.

References

Bresciani Ludvik, M. J. (2016). The neuroscience of learning and development: Enhancing creativity, compassion, critical thinking, and peace in higher education. Stylus Publishing.  

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement (1st ed.). Routledge. 

Hattie, J. (2023). Visible learning: The sequel: A synthesis of over 2,100 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). How people learn II: Learners, contexts, and cultures. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24783..

Winkelmes, M., Bernacki, M., Butler, J., Zochowski, M., Golanics, J., & Weavil, K. H. (2016). A teaching intervention that increases underserved college students' success. Peer Review, 18(1), 31–36.

Winkelmes, M., Boye, A., & Tapp, S. (Eds.). (2019). Transparent design in higher education teaching and leadership: A guide to implementing the transparency framework institution-wide to improve learning and retention. Taylor & Francis Group.