Transparency for Teaching and Learning (TILT)

Dear ECU Writing Instructors,

There are many aspects of teaching and learning we can’t control, including things like students’ prior experiences, external circumstances, or what they ultimately retain from all the varied materials they work through in our classes. But we can shape how we support, motivate, and guide them as writers. One of the most effective ways to do this is through Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT). TILT benefits all students, but it is especially powerful for those from underrepresented and first-generation backgrounds. By clearly communicating the purpose, tasks, and criteria of assignments, we help students understand not only what to do, but why it matters and how they’ll be evaluated. Transparent teaching practices demystify academic expectations, promote fairness, and foster deeper engagement. When students understand the goals of their writing assignments, they are more likely to take intellectual risks, build confidence, and persist through challenges.

In the UWP’s Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) professional development, including both the WAC Academy and the Advanced WAC Academy, we apply the same principles we encourage faculty to adopt. We make goals and expectations explicit, connect activities directly to your teaching, and model each task before asking faculty to try it themselves. This practice not only generates concrete examples for the classroom but also helps us grow as leaders and teachers.

In June 2025, 11 faculty members from Addiction & Rehabilitation Studies, Anthropology, Communication, Engineering, English, Kinesiology, Psychology, and Social Work joined us for a one-week Advanced WAC Academy focused on TILT practices. Their shared goal was to design more transparent, engaging writing experiences for their students. Participants explored how TILT supports Universal Design for Learning (UDL), reviewed models of transparent instruction, and created tools for immediate use in their courses.

This page offers resources and examples to help you bring transparent writing practices into your own teaching, starting with your next writing assignment. By modeling TILT, we can reframe student confusion or frustration as signals of where assignment design needs more clarity or support. We can also see the untapped potential of writing courses, including online courses, to cultivate student confidence, belonging, and metacognitive awareness.