Sandra,
You are so right. We need to think about our teaching in general as a continuous improvement process. Rubrics are just one part of the process. Thanks.
Eleanor,
Without an evaluation of the rubrics we use, we cannot be sure they are measuring what we really need them to measure. Keep reviewing and updating to improve the assessment and teaching processes.
Eleanor,
Your questions are great. These are essential when reviewing the rubrics. Thanks.
There are so many valid reasons to evaluate our rubrics. It is difficult to sort out one or two urgent reasons but two that come to mind immediately are:
1. The cyclical nature of review, adjustment, and implementation. Instruction does not have a dead-end goal that can be achieved (in my opinion) by creating a rubric set in granite. The nature of learning is such that improvement is an integral part of the review process, the "next step of many", so to speak.
2. Insurance. Does my rubric approximate a system of evaluation that is consistent, fair, and accurate? There is no way to know that without periodic reviews of its contents, scales, etc.
Daniel ,
I like your use of the word "insurance." That's a great way of noting whether the rubric is working (measuring what it should) or not. Thanks!
I find myself wrestling with the very idea you presented here. Does the rubric honestly authentic the goals and criteria of the course? In some courses e.g. methodology, analytical rubrics make it somewhat easier for me to answer that question. It is in the arena of interpretation e.g. theories of crime, that I have a harder time making the connection with the rubric.
I appreciate your observation but I am not a fan of PowerPoints (aka electronic flash cards) as they are, in my opinion, counterproductive to critical thinking and encourage high levels of passivity by students. I realize I am swimming against the tide with this one but the research shows that our attention span with P.Points is about 2 minutes (if we are lucky). I do not use them in the rubric if it can be avoided. Thanks.
Daniel ,
I can see your point. You may have a rubric that simply helps you assess the thoroughness of the students work and whether or not they have defended their answer, but not necesarily a right answer as many times there may not be a right answer.
Daniel ,
Ah - but my PowerPoints are voice over PowerPoints with quizzes built in. The students hear/see a few slides, a questions is posed and then they answer questions. They are not passively looking at pictures/slides. Then we discuss on the bulletin board or in synchronous meetings. It's all connected. Thanks for your input.
It is important that the rubric is reliable and valid and that needs to be done to make sure that it is measuring what you expect it to measure and that it has both intra and inter rater reliability.
David,
Definitely. We want to make sure the rubric is consistent in what it is measuring and it measures what t should be measuring. Thanks for your input.
We have recently built out a more comprehensive rubric to use for grading instructors but the student rubric needs to be reevaluated to ensure we are capturing the right competencies for improvement. I think an annual review is sufficient to make sure it is still meaningful and valid.
Pennie,
Depending on the course content, project/assignment, circumstance, etc., rubrics may be more comprehensive or more basic. Good job.
I would want to evaluate the rubrics as an instructor to know what is being evaluated. Rubrics need to be consistance, valid and reliable. The instructor would want to evaluate to make sure also that the rubric covered the essential measures the the information it is covering.
Ann,
Good words - consistent, valid and reliable. When you evaluate the rubrics, it helps you assess if they are assessing the right things. Thanks!
The review and evaluation of the rubric ensures that we are accomplishing our intended goal. If the rubric is not contributing to student learning and providing high quality feedback it should be corrected.
LE,
Yes, we have to evaluate the rubric we use to make sure they are on target with what we are assessing. They should also be designed to help students improve. Thanks for your input.
I evaluate my rubrics for effectiveness and to assure students understand the grading and assignment criteria. I not only use items such as met, not met, or correct, incorrect... I also add additional feedback inside of a comment box explaining the learning outcomes in detail.
Muriel,
Great. I always ask my students how to improve the rubric. They many times come up with ideas I didn't even think about.
Rubrics should be evaluated to provide for improvement, especially if there has been a modification to course content, or objectives. There is nothing worse that having a course modified to reflect current needs or trends and have an outdated rubric, or not notice that the rubric has not been updated until after the course has begun. That places the instructor in a difficult position and makes him/her appear to be unprepared at the onset of the course.
Tp prevent this, the instructor should carefully review the rubric beforehand to determine if the rubric follows good development guidelines, what criteria are used to judge students' work, if there is a difference between the levels of work, and if the rubric provided for various types of feedback.
The instructor could use students to generate an appropriate rubric for the course that could enhance student motivation, interest and performance, which would provide a win-win outcome for instructor and students.
