Jade,
Yes, the key is that rubrics benefit both students and instructors. Nice job.
Theresa and Christina,
I agree. The rubric roadmap is a true connection between the learning objectives and the students. Thanks.
I think that it is important to use rubrics to have consistency with grading. Rubrics help me to use the criteria to be sure that I am grading students fairly.
As a Criminal Justice instructor, I find it very important to use rubrics. It is essential for the student to understand what they have done correctly within their paper, and any information that may be lacking or needs improvement. I find that I can provide a very detailed analysis of their paper with rubrics. This helps the student understand what they need to do going forward for future papers as well. The student becomes aware of what is expected, and helps them to better judge the quality of their work. It is also a great advantage that it saves time once the rubric has been created for me specifically on evaluating their work.
Janelle,
Don't forget that they help the studnets understand the project/assignment more and should be used to help them understand the expectations/learning outcomes. Thanks!
David,
Glad you are using rubrics effectively. They are so important and help the instructor and students as well. Nice job.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson,
As an online instructor, it is important to use a rubrics for two reasons: It helps clarify what is expected and decreases the grade disputes. A rubrics is also a tools that protects the instructor from legal actions based upon bias or perceived bias toward a certain student.
Sincerely,
Walter
9-6-12
I like using rubrics for my online as well as my on ground students because it helps make the learning process as transparent as possible. Often times, students will argue that they do not know what the instructor expects from them in the assignment. Providing the students with rubrics when the assignments are handed out clears any ambiguity that the student may have about the assignment expectations. The students know at the onset what they need to do to achieve a certain score and it makes the grading easier and more objective. They is not as much gray areas for me when I use rubrics.
Walter,
And they also help students understand expectations and achieve the learning outcomes. Thanks for your input.
Beverly,
I looks your use of transparent. That really clarifies the use of rubrics. Tha is.
In an online course in which words are a premium (too few and you don’t get the message across – too many and the student gets lost in the details), a rubric can convey a great deal of information with an economy of words. I have used rubrics for all of my traditional and online instructional experiences and found the only grades that get contested are those cases in which the student did not read the rubric.
I do feel however that the rubric is only a foundation on which to build constructive evaluations the student can use moving forward. In other words, “This is the score you received in each category, AND here is how to improve in the future.
Wayne,
Sounds like you have rubrics figured out. Love it. You are right on target in that they should help the students improve as well. Nice job.
The online environment is viral and sterile. Unless the teacher develops rapport through email and synchronous chat,the student will not be able to build a relationship like in brick and motor schools. The only contact an instructor will have with a student is through grading.When an instructor have dialogue with a student, the understanding of information is better. Rubrics open up that line of conversation that is needed to build student's strengths and help with weaknesses. Students are more apt to discuss the grade if there are criteria then to get angry about the grade and challenge the score. This reassures the student and assures the instructor and his or her direct report to make sure that everything is fair and consistent.
Camesha,
A good rapport comes from good communication and clear expectations. I'm not sure what you mean by "The ONLY contact an instructo will have with a student is through grading." What about discussion boards, email, etc.?
As an online instructor, I find that often we do not have sufficient opportunity to explain principles or what is expected on assignments in a class (even if there are live chat sessions, not everyone attends). Rubrics allow for additional and specific content on what the student is expected to know, explain, describe, create examples for and cite.
It is also useful for instructors when they see that students do not do well on an assignment, either individually or collectively. We can then review and perhaps modify the rubric to make it more explicit and informative. I am often asked by students, "What do I need to do on this assignment." If I have a well-prepared rubric and it is part of the classroom or syllabus, I can then send it or refer the student to it.
Joseph ,
Right on. A well prepared rubric with essential criteria helps everyone. Nice job.
I really can't speak to other online universities, I was trying to make my response as generic as possible. Most often time, announcement boards and discussions boards are often one way communication; the instructor to the student. To have a dialogue, you can get that easily from a discussion of grades.
Sorry for the confusion.
As an online Instructor, effective and timely communication is key to the delivery of the educational program. It is also critical that students understand the complete requirements of the online course and the manner in which they will be graded. To that end I think that the use of rubrics in online courses is an indispencible tool.
Rubrics set the expectations for the assignments. The sutudent knows what is expected and the instructor declares what is important as far as grading requirements.
Camesha,
No worries. We're still learning from everyone's postings.
