Mara;
I must concur with your observations. I have taught several research and methods courses where process is alomst everything in terms of learning outcomes. It connects to so many different course goals that students who do not understand the significance of "process" have a very difficult time in that course. Thanks for your remarks.
An interesting sidenote to these three issues is the principle of "close enough." My son is an engineer. He told me that it is not uncommon for architects and engineers to collaborate on a major project (much like a course project) until they reach the point of "close enough." I think it means consensus that the project is satisfactory based on professional, multiple evaluations.
Daniel ,
Performance, product, and process can be very different to evaluate. Thanks for your input.
Daniel and Mara,
Thank you for reading each other's postings and continuing the conversation. Keep it up.
Daniel ,
Would be an interesting point of reference to take up with students. Thanks for introducing the concept.
I teach Business courses and although, we value the process of thinking or process of developing Business Plans or Marketing and Financial Plans/Strategies, it is always the Product "Business Plan or Marketing/Financial Plan/Strategy document" that is considered more appropriate and valuable.
Hence, the critical difference in evaluating a performance and a product is how student has fared well in proposing the execution of the Business Plan or Marketing/Financial Plan/Strategy document. It all starts with creating a robust and practical business Plan or Marketing/Financial Plan/Strategy Document. However, the performance of execution becomes utmost important for the survival of the businesses once the wonderful documents/plans are created. Hence, the evaluation has to be carried out in a balanced way and I always divide the evaluation into two equal parts to high light the importance of both parts and appreciate the students’ insights in developing exemplary documents as well as their clear thought process on executing the documented plans on a more realistic plane based on real business examples.
Thanks,
Sunil N. Kulkarni
Sunil,
I like they way you explained why the product is the important aspect. You also clearly describe that the evaluation must be balanced. Thanks for bringing this up in the forum.
My students create a Training Proposal to forward to management for approval. They use the ADDIE model for assessment, so I can clearly see the process, a training mock-up in PowerPoint is also included to inform management of the benefits of traijning, and finally the student actually participates in the training lesson with quizzes prepared by the instructor to see if the transfer of training has indeed worked.
Claudia ,
Ah - the ADDIE Model. It's so useful! I like that your students are doing a real world problem and they can see the transfer of knowledge.
Thanks!
Each of the evaluations might be used for different aspects of the student learning experience.
I'm answering in the context of the online program I teach:
Performance would be good for evaluating online stimulations, for example, coding/billing software.
Process would be good for self-testing of skills for management of personal finances, for example, a LifeSkills assignment.
Product would be good for essays, the student has to answer a question related to the classroom material.
Tina Cressman
Tina,
Nice description of performance, process and produce rubrics and when they may be effective to use. Nice job. Thanks for your input.
I know I had to learn this process when I first started using rubric grading--I really wanted to provide the best feedback to my students as possible--it is essential the students learn how to best perform a particular assignment/task, and rubrics I have discovered go a long way in helping with that learning process--Dr Jim Young
James,
Great. Glad you came to this conclusion that rubrics provide the feedback that students need. They are so beneficial.
Most of my experience with rubrics has been focused on products, particularly evaluating written assignments. This module has gotten me thinking about how I can extend their use in my classes to evaluate process and performance assignments. I know we're discussing using rubrics in online classes, but in my on-ground ethics classes, I often ask students to review case studies and apply a specific ethical theory (e.g., Deontology) to resolve the dilemma involved. They then present their solution to the class. I can see establishing a rubric that can be used by myself and the other students to evaluate the presentation (performance) and the reasoning used to apply the theory to the case study (process). It will also help the students focus their critical thinking skills. I like the idea of incorporating rubrics and peer-review into my classes. I think it will help students better understand my use of rubrics in grading their assignments and how they are different than checklists, which is often how students treat them.
Craig,
Rubrics are beneficial to students and instructors. Thanks for adding to the conversation.
To me, the product focuses on the overall assignment, taking into consideration the big plan. For example providing a business plan in a real world application. The end product is the complete business plan. The process would be how we got to the end product. Process would look more at the individual tasks that were needed to reach the end product. Finally, performance would look at how well that product performs. Is the business plan (assignmet) meeting the objectives.
Michael,
Well stated. I like the breakdown you provided. Do you think performance should also be tied to how well the objective is met? For example if we design a plan, and implement it, would we then measure how well it is performing?
Dale,
Thanks for bringing up this point. We do have to make sure the assessment, rubric, assignment, etc. are all connected to the learning objectives. Thanks!
Dale,
I like that you have discussed the "big plan" in several of your posts. We have to keep that in mind. Thanks.
I agree. Too often, we concentrate on the rubric and its initial components rather than look to the end of the assignment and what outcomes we expect. What is it wee want to have happen. Where are we and how do we get to where we want to be are vital components that need to be addressed within a rubric. Students do need to see the rubric first hand. I actually use it as a discussion point in explaining the lesson to the students. It gives them a chance to ask pertinent questions using the jargon of the rubric.
