TUESDAY TEACHING TIP: Motivating Students to Turn in Assignments

Assigning a zero for missed work may seem fair or motivating, but it often does more harm than good. It can severely distort a student’s grade, undermine motivation, ignore personal circumstances, and contradict the goal of supporting learning. Instead of punishment, our focus should be on helping students succeed and demonstrate mastery.

This week, we challenge you to focus on the learning opportunity of our assignments. 

Here’s one way to do it 

• Assignment design: 
• Use modular or smaller-stakes tasks that allow students to recover from one poor performance without derailing the whole grade.
• Grading: 
• Build a culture of communication where students are encouraged to reach out before missing deadlines.
• Instead of a zero, deduct a manageable percentage per day late, or require a reflective explanation to regain some points.
• Set a floor (e.g., 50% rather than 0%) to reduce the outsized effect of a zero. This keeps students in the game and better reflects progress over time.
• Grade based on demonstrated learning rather than compliance with deadlines alone.

You’ve designed a meaningful assignment to deepen student learning—now make sure your grading supports that goal. Structure assignments and grading policies to encourage full engagement, not just compliance.

DID YOU DO IT?

Let us know how it went. We would love to hear your feedback about how you implemented today’s Tuesday Teaching Tip in your classroom. Click here to fill out our 3-question survey. The survey is anonymous, but if you choose to enter your name, you’ll be entered in a drawing at the end of the quarter to win a new book from Faculty Development!

UPCOMING EVENTS

• TODAY! CAFE Interdisciplinary Research Networks at 12:00pm (Mission Room!)
• From Global Engagement: International Education Week: Fika with Global Faculty and Scholars on Wednesday, November 19, 1:00-3:30pm
• On-Campus Writing Retreat on Thursday, November 20, 9:00am

WANT TO READ A LITTLE MORE?

Check out the DRT page on Alternative Approaches to Grading

This week’s Tuesday Teaching Tip was prepared by Sumana Sur, Diana Morlang, Loring Pfeiffer, and Patti Simone on behalf of the Faculty Development and the Center for Teaching Excellence.

Missed a teaching tip? Read them all here. 

And check out our full calendar of CAFEs and other Faculty Development events.