Plan of action

A plan of action or planning assignment is a form of assessment where you have students develop a plan or strategy for a particular project or business. This could be, for example, a project plan, a marketing plan, an operational plan or a financial plan. There are various ways in which you can use a planning assignment as a test, such as a case or scenario of a real or fictitious company or organisation for which the students develop a plan. Here, always ensure a clear connection to the material taught, and give students feedback on their plan so they can improve it for the final version. You can also let the students present the plans to their peers, or experts in the field.

A plan of action helps students develop skills such as strategic thinking, problem solving, analysis, presentation skills and collaboration.

There are several ways to test students' knowledge with a plan of action, for example, assess students on:

1. The content of the plan. Does the plan contain the right information and do students apply the right insights and knowledge?
2. The structure and construction of the plan. Does the plan have a logical structure and do students formulate their ideas clearly?
3. The methods used. Did the students use the right methods to gather, analyse and present information?
4. The practicality. Is the plan practically applicable and do students take into account real-world constraints and possibilities?
5. Creativity and innovation. Do students think out-of-the-box and does the plan contain unique elements?
6. The quality of the presentation. Do the students present their plan in a clear and convincing way?
7. Dealing with feedback. How did the students improve their plan after the feedback?

By evaluating these different aspects, you can get a good picture of students' knowledge and skills and how they apply them in practice.

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See also: Research project, Productontwerp, Case assignment.