What was the title of your last assignment?

After finally deciding on a title for an article I'm writing (see blog post here), I realised that I've marked University assignments without a title or even a cover page. Even this blog post has a title!

Writing an assignment and ensuring that all criteria is covered is brain draining enough so any old title will do, right? For a University assignment - add a title. It doesn't have to be exciting but it does have to relate to the topic of the assignment.

For instance, if you are taking the unit EDSP400 Inclusive and Special Education at the University of New England, assignment one is based on a case study. The assignment title could be:

Classroom Case Study

Pretty boring, right? But acceptable. Let's try:

Largetown Public School: A Case Study

Hmmm, not bad. How about:

Inclusive Strategies: A Grade Four Case Study

You probably get the picture!

Being creative with an assignment title won't get you any extra marks but it is something to think about next time you write an assignment.

What was the title of your last assignment?

Studying and parenting

Studying while you have young children can be done! It just requires some organisation and routine. Depending on how young your children are, I recommend using child care two days per week. These will become your study days. If money is a problem or your child/ren are too young to attend child care, focus on their sleep times to get your study done.

First, get yourself a diary. Schedule in all family events, extracurricular activities and assignment due dates. Work out the regular days you can do study and write ‘study’ on those days. Aim to set aside two full days.

From your unit information and study schedule provided by your tertiary institution you will see what is required for the first week. So, if it is article XYZ and chapter 1 and 2 of your text for unit EDNE then write that down under your first ‘study’ day. As you complete your study, tick off what you achieve. If you don’t get it done the first day transfer the work to your next study day.

Work study in around your life. Print off and read articles before you go to bed, take your text book to the hairdresser or when you take your child to their gymnastics class. That’s an extra hour of work you can tick off your study schedule that week! Look for opportunities to do a little bit of extra study.

If you have an assignment due or an examination coming up, ensure you have organised time without your children so you can get the assignment polished and your pre-prepared to sit your examination – even if it is online you will need peace and quiet!

There will be days that you will think ‘this is all too hard’ but think about the final outcome and what that will provide for you and your family. Reward yourself when you finish an assignment or you have done extra study and take regular break to walk the dog or do something one on one with your child. Keep yourself motivated because you can do this!

Don’t be the loafer.

When studying either externally or on campus, at some stage you may be required to do a group assignment as part of your assessment.

This can be a frustrating type of assignment especially if you have a loafer in your group. A loafer is one that doesn’t do the work required but expects the credit at the end.

Join an online group as soon as possible as I find those who join first are usually on the ball and ready to work. A wiki is usually where online group work will take place. If there are topics where you are assigned as a leader, ask questions for the others to answer.

Remember the due date is there for a reason but don’t leave your answers and ideas until the last day as the topic leader needs to summarise and most likely post a group response in the forums. Don’t use ‘I work all week’ or ‘it’s not due until tomorrow’ as an excuse not to check the wiki and provide your input. It is better to be up-to-date and involved with the discussion than to whinge that you didn’t get your input posted.

If you are unfortunate enough to have a loafer in your group, you may need to send them a private email along the lines of ‘I hope you are okay, such and such is due tomorrow’. If they do not respond to the group by the deadlines, keep moving along with the topic. The lecturer will read the wiki posts and ascertain who participated actively within the group and who did not respond enough.

You may have the opportunity to do an individual reflective essay on the group assignment where you can talk about participation within the group including the positives and negatives.

Ensuring that you take accountability for your participation in the group will mean an enriched learning experience for you.