Academic Professional Development Hub

What is TiLT?

Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TiLT) is a framework designed to make the purpose, tasks, and criteria of learning activities explicitly clear to students. Research shows that increasing transparency helps students—especially first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students—better understand what is expected of them and why, which improves academic confidence, persistence, and performance.

A TiLT-informed assignment or activity typically outlines:

• Purpose: Why students are doing the activity and how it connects to course goals and skills.
• Task: What exactly students are expected to do, step by step.
• Criteria: How the work will be evaluated, with examples or rubrics when possible.

By using TiLT strategies, instructors can reduce barriers to learning, increase equity, and support student success across disciplines.

What Can I Use Right Now?

Try this:

1. When assigning a task, discuss with students what they will be learning (learning objectives) and why this knowledge or skill might be relevant to them.
2. Provide a clear list of steps (even try a timeline or visual process) for completing the assignment.
3. Offer and discuss examples of successful student work.

Want to know more?

Check out the "Tools for Teachers" on the TiLT website:

• Transparent Assignment Template for instructors
• Checklist for Designing Transparent Assignments
• Assignment Cues to use when designing an assignment (adapted from Bloom’s Taxonomy) for faculty
• Transparent Equitable Learning Readiness Assessment for Teachers
• Transparent Assignment Template for students (to help students learn to parse assignments; also to frame a conversation to gather feedback from your students about how to make assignments more transparent and relevant for them)
• Transparent Equitable Learning Framework for Students (to frame a conversation with students about how to make the purposes, tasks and criteria for class activities transparent and relevant for them)

Reflective Questions

1. What interests you most about Transparency in Learning and Teaching?
2. What are the three parts of TiLT?
3. Explain something specific you can do to address each of the three areas of TiLT with your students.