The common mistakes when creating rubrics are having too many criteria. Too many criteria may reduce the quality of the rubric. Also another mistake is to have a varying scale. This will be confusing and inconsistent for the student to understand why there was a different score.
I agree with this, especially in the case of students who may not be properly prepared for higher level learning. If the student had challenges in high school and is now trying to focus their life, the writing criteria in an essay rubric can cause confusion. For example, sentence structure, spelling and grammar does not have the same meaning to the student as it does the instructor. It doesn't have to be super focused but in too general terms it will make the student just as intimadated.
Darren,
Yes, this is good advice to others. Thanks for your input.
Berrie,
And, make sure you connect the learning outcomes to the rubric. The students should see the connection. Thanks.
That is very interesting Lee, because I find that the points assigned by the university at which I teach for "presentation," such as grammar, writing style, and APA usage are so low that most students do not take them seriously. I have refined my rubrics, so that the section on content includes evidence of research in an effort to remind students to cite their work.
Elizabeth and Lee,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. Having a section about "evidence of research" is excellent. That's a great way to get them to think about research and not simply opinion.
When using a holistic rubric, a common mistake is making sure the rubric matches the overall scope.
Rhonda,
We have to think about the rubrics, criteria, etc. carefully. Scope is one consideration. Thanks!
All of my classes come with the pre-generated rubrics. There are a few units where the rubrics were ambiguous so I’ve taken it upon myself to add on to them in order to clarify the assignment step(s). Despite my doing this, many students, judging from the work submitted, do not connect the dots. It may be due to them not reading the Announcements, or looking at the rubrics themselves, or for any of a variety of other reasons. Is that my mistake?
For those that do read them as well as my modified versions with clarifications it turns into a win-win, since they are more focused and do the right thing more often, which gives them the right skill set and better grades. For me, it’s easier to grade assignments that are done right.
roger,
If pre-generated rubrics, please make sure they meet the learning outcomes and the projects are sound. Give them a look. Thanks!
The biggest mistake that I make when making rubric, I do not give my self enough time. I finally realized, in order to create an effective rubric, I have to make sure I am aware of the outcomes. I now create and model the assignment before I create my rubric.
Lauren ,
Good point. I actually put e outcomes in the rubric. It helps me make the connection. Thanks for sharing.
After having read this module, I can list several of my own mistakes in creating rubrics. I typically have anywhere from 8-10 criteria in my rubrics; 4 are static, found on every rubric no matter the assignment, but no less than 8 total. I include a lot of quantifiable components (at least 3 examples, 2 complete sentences, etc). I think I do some good things as well, like providing very clear criteria that other instructors could use as well, keep it objective, but I don't do a very good job of connecting the assignment to course outcomes. I have made a bit of progress in this area, but know I still have a ways to go.
Natalie,
We all learn from our mistakes. I'm glad you are learning from the modules. We all continue to learn from each other. Keep progressing!
I feel that rubrics are necessary and important when accessing students’ assignments. This will help students to understand portions of the assignments they did not score high and or the ones that were scored high, therefore allowing the students an opportunity to improve on future assignments. Some mistakes that I have made when I have created grading rubrics was creating too many objectives or criteria. I found this to be time consuming for my grading as well as tedious for students. For an example, if I was grading an essay, I had a several requirements for APA format, one for title page, one for in-text citation, references, spell check, indentation etc. I had to combine some of the headings together to speed up the grading process. Also the students felt that I was being too detailed. Once I combined the APA together this seem to avoid less emails and complaints. So I actually limited myself to a maximum of 5 criteria.
revonna,
Thanks for your input. You are so right about including too many objectives/criteria. It's better to break it down and 5 is a good number. Thanks again.
As an online instructor when I place the guidelines in my rubric, and I weigh each task based on a finished product it may work for some students but not for all. I may have students who try hard but have a learning problem. In that case I may have to consider adding points for participation.
Darcel,
Participation could be one of the components of the rubric, but students should meet the criteria to succeed. Thanks for your input.
At AIU we do have our rubrics provided to us. I often time think that they need improvement.
Are we allowed to change the rubrics at all IF we were to post something in advance.
Is about 10% of the overall written assignment based on APA formatting, citations, etc. or is that too much?
Janis,
If they are provided to you, please make sure they assess the learning outcomes of the courese. This is essential. If you can include the learning outomces in the actual rubric, even better. If you have a learning outcombe based on APA formatting, it's not too much.
