Module 3 Assignment: Statement of annotation purpose [⭐️ Self-paced assignment 3/4]

Why are you having your students annotate? Draft a statement of annotation purpose you might use in your syllabus or at the beginning of an annotation assignment. This can be a few sentences/a paragraph long. These SoPs can be used help students understand how annotation will help them meet course objectives, prepare them for larger assessments, and/or develop the skills needed in your particular course. This can help demonstrate the value of annotation assignments to students by making explicit how they contribute to student success in your course.

Why is this important? Check out a short video clip from Jenae Cohn of why being explicit about purpose can be helpful for students.

Some questions to consider in drafting the SoP:

• Why are you having your students collectively annotate?
• What are you hoping they will get out of the annotation assignments?
• How should they approach the assignment?
• Are there any discipline-specific skills they can work on strengthening as part of the social annotation process?

Essentially, this should explain to students the "why" behind the annotation assignments instead of what you expect them to be doing.

If you offer instructional support for faculty but don't teach your own courses, feel free to create a generic statement of purpose you might share with faculty to get started, or imagine drafting a statement of purpose for a course you have helped support in the past.

Explore some examples below:

• Statement of purpose from Megan Litster, Associate Professor of Biology at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
• Statement of purpose from Jackie Geiger, writing instructor at Montgomery County Community College and instructional designer 
• Statement of purpose from Steven Edwards, music instructor at Delgado Community College
• Review the text under "Objectives" and "Procedure" headings here, from M. Emilia Barbosa, Assistant Professor of Spanish and Rachel Schneider, Assistant Teaching Professor of English and Technical Communications at Missouri University of Science and Technology