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Assignment Design

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Writing with Scalar Learning goals:

⚫  To engage in sophisticated critical inquiry ⚫
⚫  To promote responsible and interesting use of diverse media, including images, video, audio  ⚫
⚫  To learn about the relationship between form and content  ⚫
⚫  To promote digital literacy  ⚫

Scalar encourages students and instructors to rethink their approaches to writing and presentation.  In addition to linear, black and white, conventionally formatted and argued essays, students writing in Scalar can also experiment with form and content.  A  project on Scalar should include foremost a compelling argument and a clear purpose.  It should also be rich with relevant evidence, including textual support, images, video, audio files, maps or timelines, and links to external sources. 

To make the most of Scalar's "pathing" feature, writers need consider how non-linear form requires them to make unusual connections among materials under analysis by creatively linking or "pathing" a sequence of what, at first glance, might seem to be unrelated fragments or by following through on valuable digressions.  Research writing and reading becomes a practice of trailblazing in which writers and readers follow paths associatively, reflecting, as early programmer Vannevar Bush claimed, the  process of thought itself. 

Collaborative projects or collections on Scalar present opportunities to exhibit a variety of materials and to make connections among diverse ideas, images, and materials.

Writing assignments should make use Scalar's capacity for creative design, associative and experimental writing, and collaboration.

Assignment prompts should include:

♦an overview of the purpose of the assignment, including an effort to get students to "buy in"
 
♦a detailed list of components each Scalar book or chapter should include

♦Some time for collaboration (if group projects) or tech training

♦a timeline for the assignment
This chapter contains several sample assignments, a suggested timeline for a relatively short and focused Scalar writing assignment, and information on collaboration spaces on campus.  You can follow the links below in any order and then return to this page to follow a new path.

This page has paths:

  1. Sample Assignment: Class Book Kristine Kelly
  2. Introduction Kristine Kelly

Contents of this path:

  1. Proposed Process Timeline
  2. Sample Assignment: Class Book
  3. Collaboration Spaces

This page references: