It used to be that instructors primarily assessed student learning via printed documents that were turned in physically—papers written on actual paper, blue book exams, etc.

Over the last couple of decades, those artifacts largely transitioned into digital products, which students submit through an online learning management system. In addition to efficiency gains, the shift reduced the amount of paper being shuffled back and forth between teacher and students.

With the presence of AI ever increasing on college campuses, though, instructors are more often calling on their students to be “makers” once again, with assignments like handwritten course journals and physical writing portfolios on the rise.

Hinda Mandell, a professor in the School of Communication and English at the Rochester Institute of Technology, takes a fascinating approach to the art of making, asking students in her general education course on persuasion to learn to crochet. She shares with us why she does this and how it relates to student learning, offering insights that are relevant to classes at all levels.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Why producing crocheted items accounts for 15 percent of the grade students receive in Hinda’s gen ed course Persuasion
• Getting students to buy into crocheting as an act of persuasion itself, one designed as part of a larger process to pull their attention away from online spaces and into class
• The reasons Hinda incorporates hands-on making activities into all her courses and ways she connects the process with her goals for student learning
• The benefits of challenging yourself, as an instructor, to do something unexpected in your courses, especially if you’ve been teaching awhile
• Responding to students who resist or have trouble with the handwork assignments
• Fitting handwork into the broader assessment structure of the course
• Making how you spend the time in class with your students a priority

Guest Bio: Hinda Mandell is a professor in the School of Communication and English at RIT, where she was the director of the university’s journalism program from 2020–24. Passionate about prioritizing a DIY, materials-based approach as a thought tool in the university classroom, she has been interviewed by The New York Times and The Associated Press, among other global outlets, on the importance of making objects by hand. She is the author of several books exploring how people use handcrafts as a tool for activism and dissent.

Resource Mentioned:

• Episode Transcript

Designed for Learning is hosted by Jim Lang, a professor of the practice in Notre Dame Learning’s Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence and the author of several influential books on teaching. The podcast is produced by Notre Dame Learning’s Office of Digital Learning. For more, visit learning.nd.edu/podcast. You can also follow Notre Dame Learning on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter.