I work with faculty to provide course-integrated workshops that support the instructor and learners in project-based assignments that use the MSU Libraries’ Makerspace and its technologies. Specifically, I work with a course that is about learning to prototype and learners are introduced to digital fabrication for prototyping through two workshops. This course is open to all majors and includes a wide range of learners with varied prior experience and technical knowledge. Recently, I revisited the content I had not worked with in quite some time. I was shocked to see how misaligned the assignment and the learning objectives were. Ideally, when I design and teach I start with the syllabus, course goals, and learning objectives – after all, if I do not have a clear picture of where learners are going and what success looks like, how could the assessment align with the goals? Here is where I went to work.
The activity and assessment design that I came up with is a guided sketchbook that scaffolds the learning activities, integrates clear learning objectives, and uses informally written reflections throughout the activities to assess student learning – rather than assessing based on the final 3D printed object.
Alignment
Aligning assessment with learning objectives is a fundamental aspect of design (Quality Matters, 2023). This is what I addressed first. Using “Principals for Adult Learning” from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO, 2025) , the primary course assignment seems to lack in key areas for adult education. What stood out to me the most was that the objectives of the assignment were not goal/results oriented to meet the variety of careers each student might be pursuing.
To address this in the learning design, I focused on creating relevance and practicality for the learners through relevant and measurable objectives, highlighting case studies, real-world examples, and making connections with prior knowledge and personal goals. I placed these goals and a learner inventory right at the beginning of the sketchbook to help the students understand and relate to the goals, and for me to understand who the learners are and what they hope to achieve in my workshops.
Scaffolding
Now that my alignment was covered, I wanted to scaffold (Vygotsky, 1978) the experience to more seamlessly integrate the assessment into the learning activities without overemphasizing the product created and focusing on the process of design. Since the goal is to practice prototyping and learn to use different design frameworks, I created sketchbook pages with prompted activities and reflections that encourage knowledge integration.
I also reinforced prior content covered in course readings and the workshops in the sketchbook. I used one of the design thinking diagrams and a “you are here” icon along with prompts and questions to show the students examples of how the design thinking framework is applied to their design prompt.
When working on my skills to design creative assessments, I realize the elements that lay the foundation for creative assessment design are not flashy, high-tech, or expensive. My creative assessment doesn’t use the latest software, it relies on putting time and energy into focusing on my learners, alignment between objectives and assessment, and scaffolding the process.
With a simple paper sketchbook, I have designed a tool that supports the adult learning process and creates opportunities for connections and assessment through the same medium they are tasked with learning.
References
National Association of County and City Health Officials. (2025). Adult learning principles reference guide. NACCHO.org. https://www.naccho.org/uploads/downloadable-resources/Programs/Community-Health/Project-Firstline/PAL-Reference-Guide.pdf
Quality Matters. (2023). Specific Review Standards from the QM Higher Education Rubric, Seventh Edition. http://www.qualitymatters.org/sites/default/files/PDFs/StandardsfromtheQMHigherEducationRubric.pdf
Vygotskiĭ, L. S., & Cole, M. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Image Credit
All graphics are examples of the guided sketchbook activities created by the author.
Moriarty, J. (2026). Example of guided sketchbook activities [Printable sketchbook pages].
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