In his MIS 302 course (Database Theory and Practice), Dr. Ozdemir developed an assignment that gave students the opportunity to work in teams to understand and integrate several course concepts in a substantially involved case study. The assignment was composed of three phases. Because each phase built on the previous one, students were required to revise their documents on previous phases before submitting their work on a new phase.

Dr. Ozdemir developed and used a rubric for each phase of the assignment. The rubrics included both critical thinking criteria as well as criteria that were more content specific. Dr. Ozdemir feels that the project was successful in encouraging students to engage in critical thinking. However, he plans on making adjustments for the next semester in order to improve student learning outcomes related to "identifying and assessing key assumptions" and "using data and other evidence to support arguments" (the two areas where students' skills were weakest). In order to assist students with those specific skills, Dr. Ozdemir plans on discussing the rubric in more detail in class and giving examples about how these two activities can be done appropriately and convincingly. Dr. Ozdemir will also modify the rubrics so that they reflect his expectations more clearly.

Assignment

Phase 1 Assignment

Phase 2 Assignment

Phase 3 Assignment

Rubric

Phase 1 Rubric

Phase 2 Rubric

Phase 3 Rubric