About the Exceptional Signature Assignment Repository
The General Education Exceptional Signature Assignment Repository is an online collection of exemplary signature assignments in the General Education program. The Repository is intended to showcase expertly crafted and highly engaging learning experiences in General Education. Publishing in the Repository is a way for General Education instructors to showcase their teaching scholarship as designers of these exceptional signature assignments.
We seek exceptional signature assignments that align with the General Education program’s mission, vision, and learning outcomes:
Mission
To guide students as they develop into critical, innovative thinkers who are ready to lead cooperatively with interdisciplinary thinking & perspective-taking.
Vision
To build and sustain a General Education program that emphasizes and facilitates:
Student agency & exploration;
Connected & scaffolded student learning;
Relevance to & flexibility for a changing world;
Ways of thinking & ways of knowing to contextualize content;
Reflection on learning across the curriculum;
Collaboration across disciplines;
High quality teaching & engaged learning;
Holistic assessment & periodic review of courses.
Interested in submitting your assignment for review?
Eligibility
You are eligible to submit your signature assignment if you...
Are the designer of a General Education signature assignment
Have used the General Education signature assignment for at least one semester
Evaluation Criteria
Submissions will be evaluated on criteria such as evidence of real-world application opportunities, clarity of assignment instructions, evidence of perspective-taking, innovative assignment design, and alignment with course outcomes.
Submission Instructions
Please include the following files in your submission at this file request link:
1) A brief description of your course
2) The signature assignment description that you provide to students
3) A scholarly statement (250-500 words) describing the pedagogical rationale behind your signature assignment including answers to the following prompts:
What is the purpose of the assignment as it relates to the learning outcomes of the course?
How is the assignment framed to students in the class setting?
How does the assignment encourage students to engage in perspective-taking?
How does your assignment draw from established best practices in teaching and learning?
Feel free to include other supporting materials (e.g., grading rubrics, examples you provide to students)
Deadline
November 21st, 2025
Review Process
Each signature assignment submission is reviewed by the Exceptional Signature Assignment Repository co-editors according to a detailed rubric. If accepted, the co-editors will reach out with further instructions about the publication process.
Questions? Please contact Audrey Tocco Kahn (ajtocco@arizona.edu) or Katie Southard (ksouthard@arizona.edu).