Assessments- sometimes they are the exercises to the final marathon

In the Faculty Learning Community for Blended Learning, we had an interesting conversation about assessment and learning outcomes. As I grow in my position as an Instructional Designer I realize the importance of learning outcomes. In the learning community we discussed the importance of verifying your learning outcome with an assessment. I really appreciated this conversation as it made me reflect on the courses I develop with faculty. It also requires that I become more deliberate and mindful of the work I do in developing courses.

As our community began discussing assessments, the question was raised "Do we motivate students by giving them assignments worth 1 and 2%?" This then brought forth the question about the role of Discussion Boards as a tool for assessment. Often, as I work with faculty in developing online courses it is suggested that they give "participation" points to students for their contributions to the Discussion Board. However, this only winds up being about 5% of their final course mark.

So... is it motivating and valuable to the student's learning experience to complete the "piddley" assignments?

In some cases I argue YES. I see learning as a process and something that requires constant practice. Over the course of a semester it is valuable to have students use the discussion board as a reflective area and as a place to collaborate with other students and give eachother feedback. Reflection and writing is a great way to think about one's understanding of material. If an instructor assigns reflective assignments or even Q & A assignments in the Discussion Board that may only be 1-2% of a student's weekly mark, aren't we assisting them in exercising their learning? I see learning as an exercise that needs to be continually worked on, week after week after week, so that they are trained and prepared for their marathon... their final exam.