How to do Assignments
An assignment comprises a piece of work the teacher allocates to their students as part of the course of study. In most cases, these tasks are given and completed within a defined timeframe. As much as all assessments must be turned in on time, assignments emphasize testing the students’ gradual learning. Thus, assignments can be fieldwork, written, artistic, practical, and online activities.
How to do Assignments
Your Online Dictionary has identified commonly administered assignments in the teaching-learning process: page-by-page, problem, topical, project, and group or cooperative.
As the name suggests, page-by-page assignments revolve around evaluating bit-by-bit the various items learned from the text. Many students are familiar with textbook assignments because tutors often ask you to complete a task based on the designated page numbers. Some players insist that page-by-page assignments are primarily incorporated in the elementary grades because they are unsatisfactory. Despite negative criticisms, these assignments have gone against all odds to remain relevant even in higher learning institutions.
You must wonder what differentiates page-by-page assignments from the problem and topical assignments because they can be generated from the class text. To be precise, problem assignment does not necessarily rely on the fundamental textbook idea but instead encourages the student to apply reflective thinking and include appropriate references. Essentially, the problem dictates the student’s consideration, as they must follow particular directions. By contrast, a topical assignment requires students to develop the topic, primarily in natural and social sciences.
Cooperative assignments, also known as group assessments, comprise tasks frequently administered to gauge the learners’ critical thinking skills and ability to organize learning materials. I believe you can attest to this claim: working in groups enables members to acquire new knowledge, experiences, and perspectives due to high-level diversity.
Teachers often utilize group assignments to build favorable learning environments characterized by creativity, cooperation, problem-solving and effective conflict resolution. As Tara Horkoff puts it, assignments help students sharpen their research, writing, and problem-solving skills, as they prioritize understanding and exploring definitive learning objectives.
Sample Assignment
Time Management
Overview
My course project involves a comprehensive investigation of Dodge Company, focusing on the firm’s business activities or operations regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR), competition and market positioning, human resource management, and supply chain management. Given each week, I am expected to complete assignments on each of the covered units; success in these assessments requires proper planning and preparation. As a result, I have created the following time-management schedule to prepare adequately for what I understand to be the key topics to cover and respond to in the assignments. Besides the table, I have provided a brief description of tools that have assisted the entire planning process.
Goals: Good study habits
Schedule
| Task | Specific Detail/Activity | Duration (Hours Per Week) |
| A brief outline | Brainstorming, researching, and identifying by listing key components of a company’s profile, operations, strategies, and future outlook. | 90 hours |
| Company Overview | Profile includes mission and vision statements, goals, size, products, and financial and sustainability projections. Management of internal and external communication, the definition of roles and responsibilities, and how resources are managed. | 1 week |
| Market strategies | How Dodge integrates the following Porter’s generic strategies: cost-leadership, focus, and differentiation. How these strategies contribute to the company’s market positioning, cost management, value proposition, and over competitive edge. | 1 week |
| Operations management | Supply chain management at Dodge, including strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. | 1 week |
| Human resource management | The key elements of HRM at Dodge: organization, reports, employee self-service, payroll, benefits administration, training, recruiting, time and attendance, and HRM information system. | 1 week |
Planning Tools
Project management remains one of the challenging tasks characterized by complex and multifaceted responsibilities. Most importantly, projects manifest in a wide-ranging form. In this context, covering the remaining units VI, VII, and VIII and completing associated assignments constitute a major project in my doctorate course in business administration. Consequently, I leveraged the benefits of several project management tools and resources to develop the time –and task-management above. Specifically, I utilized the Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) and secondary and primary sources. I produced PERT manually, and it proved helpful in identifying specific tasks, activities, milestones, and time involved.
Additionally, the tool allowed me to sequence activities while at the same time estimating optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely time. Through primary sources, including memos and written testimonies by current and former Dodge employees and peer-reviewed articles, I could find identity and elaborate on each element of a comprehensive investigation. For instance, I identified what makes a company competitive and worth studying: their HRM, supply chain management, profile, and business operation.