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Writer's pictureJernaley

Why Use Rubrics?

Using rubrics as an evaluation and communication tool.

Graded Paper (Media from Wix)
Graded Paper (Media from Wix)

Overview

In my previous post, I wrote about how Giving Learners Feedback lets them know their performance on submissions when weaknesses, areas for improvements, and strengths are identified. In this post, I'll discuss why you may want to consider using rubrics as a means for providing feedback.

 

Content

This post provides the following information:

  • Definition of Rubric

  • Benefits of Using a Rubric

  • Tips for Creating a Rubric

  • An Example from My Classes


Applies To

This post is written with the following individuals in mind:

  • Face-to-face faculty and trainers now teaching online due to current events 2020

  • New online faculty and trainers

  • Instructional staff (e.g. instructional designers, course developers, consultants, etc.) providing support to faculty teaching online

  • Anyone looking for new or different tips in online teaching and training

  • Anyone looking for opinions or a different perspective of online teaching and training

 

Definition A rubric is an evaluation tool used to assess learner performance of a stated learning outcome. It divides an assessment into parts or chunks and provide specifics of what constitutes acceptable or unacceptable levels of performance for each of those parts.


I've also considered rubrics as a communication tool. My learners had access to rubrics in advance and knew my expectations for all activities and assessments. I received fewer questions about completing activities and assessments or who and why I provided certain grades when learners had access to the rubrics compared to many years ago when I didn't use it in my classes.


Rubrics can be used for grading a large variety of activities and assessments to include papers, discussion participation, written reports, portfolios, group work, self and peer review, presentations, and more.

Benefits of Using a Rubric

Creating a rubric may be a time-consuming process, especially if you choose to create a detailed, informative rubric. If it's your first time creating a rubric, it may seem like a daunting task. The first few rubrics may take a considerable amount of time to construct. However, the benefits may prove that creating rubrics is a worthwhile investment of time.


Rubrics are a valuable pedagogical tool. They serve as an evaluation tool for assessing learners' performance. It's another option for providing learners' feedback on their achievement of the stated learning outcomes.


Rubrics are dynamic reusable learning objects, meaning you can reuse and modify as needed for a variety of activities and assessments. While it's useful for when you assess learners' performance, it's also beneficial for other non-learners of the class, such as teaching or graduate assistants, to reference while grading. Performance descriptors (mentioned later in this post) are feedback that inform learners of their weaknesses and strengths found in their submission.


I often encouraged faculty members to share their rubrics with colleagues to either help someone who's unable to create their own at the time or to see different ways rubrics could be created.


Other benefits for using rubrics with your activities and assessments include:

  • Clear goals and expectations. With a rubric, you identify what is required for successful completion. It can inspire self-assessment and self-improvement, encouraging learners to manage their priorities prior to and during completion of an activity or assessment.

  • Clarification of instructions. If learners find the instructions unclear, a rubric allows learners to receive the necessary details about what's expected of them. The requirements of the assessment are provided in writing and quantify them for learners.

  • Efficient grading. A rubric makes it easier to determine a grade when a criterion is clearly stated. You know exactly what you're looking for and assessing, reducing the amount of stress and time it takes to grade a learner's submission. Grades are justified and bias is eliminated.


Tips for Creating a Rubric

There are different types of rubrics, allowing you to create rubrics that fit how you'll assess learner's performances. Different variables will determine the type of rubrics and the format you'll want to create. No matter the type, there are 3 common components of a rubric:

  1. Criteria describes the characteristics of learner performance that is being assessed.

  2. Achievement levels state the degree of performance expected of learners to demonstrate.

  3. Performance descriptors provide a detailed description of the quality of performance for each achievement level and criteria.

Components of a Rubric (Criteria, Achievement Level, & Descriptors)
Components of a Rubric (Criteria, Achievement Level, & Descriptors)

Some faculty members I've consulted opted to not provide performance descriptors, but I'd recommend doing so. Rubrics may be generic or very detailed for a specific assessment, but descriptors will help clear any confusion for anyone referencing a rubric.


Below are 4 tips for creating a rubric:

  1. reflect on what you want learners to do,

  2. list ideas and goals based on the learning outcomes and objectives to identify expectations,

  3. group similar expectations together, and

  4. apply your expectations and descriptions into a rubric.


Reflect. Think about what you want from learners, why you created the assessment, and what your expectations are. Consider the overall class outcomes, the assessment you're evaluating, its purposes, unit/module-level outcomes, and learners' prior knowledge. To further help with your reflection, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Why does the assessment exist? What's its purpose?

  • Have you given this assessment or a similar one in the past?

  • How does this assessment align with and relate to the class subject?

  • What skills will learners need to have or develop to successfully complete this assessment?

  • What evidence can learners provide in this assessment that will demonstrate what you expect them to accomplish?

  • What are the highest and lowest expectations you have for learner performance on this assessment as a whole?


List. Focus on the details of the assessment and how it'll help learners achieve the stated learning outcomes or objectives. After you've reflected on what you want from learners, you can begin creating a list of your learning outcomes and objectives. Under each outcome and objective, list all performance expectations, learning goals, and other ideas that come to mind. In other words, list anything you want learners to demonstrate or show through completion of an assessment.


Group. Organize your reflections and group similar expectations together. You can begin grouping similar performance expectations, learning goals, and additional ideas together. You may find this to be a back-and-forth process as you evaluate and reassign various ideas to different groups. Once groups are created, you can read through to find a common theme. The common theme may become criteria for your rubric. Consider what's needed for learners to achieve different levels of a criteria, then write a description that explains what you consider present or missing for each level of a criteria.


Apply. Apply the labels and descriptions into the formal creation of a rubric. Many faculty members choose to transfer their lists and groupings into a table. It makes a little easier to visually distinguish the different groups, or criteria. Keep in mind that a rubric doesn't have to be organized in a table. I've consulted faculty members that preferred referring to a bulleted list or a paragraph of text.


An Example from My Classes

It took several semesters for me to modify my rubrics for the type of activities and assessments I created. I enlisted my learners' help in making improvements by requesting their anonymous feedback about the rubrics and other aspects of the class as their final class activity.


Initially I only created rubrics for summative assessments, or assessments I considered to be more high stakes. These assessments were crucial in comparing learners' submissions against the stated learning outcomes for the class.


Once I was able to devote time to creating rubrics for all other activities and assessments, I found that rubrics made it easier and quicker to grade fairly. Learners were less likely to question or challenge a grade I gave for a low-stakes activity such as class discussions. I sometimes relied on descriptors to serve as feedback when I was unable to write feedback for learners due to time constraints.


For discussion activities, I personally found a generic rubric to work well. By generic, I mean I used a single discussion rubric for all discussion activities completed in a class. This choice proved to be helpful as I found myself modifying the discussion after receiving the end of class evaluations, although I'd also modify the rubrics to provide more clarity if needed.


The LMS permitted me to use the rubric as a built-in grading tool. I was able to create my rubric using a point system. I selected each level achieved for each criterion described, and the LMS auto generated the total points based on my selections. I then optionally modified the grade and write additional feedback to further explain why a learner received the grade earned.


Below is an example of an older version of the directions, instructions, and rubric for a "Communication Plan" discussion activity learners (i.e. educators) completed for a "Fundamentals of Teaching" professional development class.


The achievement levels and descriptors have room for improvement but serves as an example of a rubric you can adapt and modify. Changes were made to the rubric based on learners' feedback, common questions about the activity, and common mistakes or issues I noticed while grading learners' discussion activities.


The screenshot provided below doesn't show the points associated with the rubric, but learners were permitted to view the points for each criterion and level within the LMS. In case you're unable to read the screenshot, the criterion, achievement levels, and descriptors are provided in text form following the image.


While I used the labels exceptional, good, average, and poor as the achievement levels for this rubric, you can use any short label that best describes the level of performance you're assessing. In fact, I believe I reduced the number of achievement levels and rewrote the descriptors to make it easier for all to review.


If a learner received anything other than max points for a criterion, I briefly explained how or where their discussion post didn't meet the requirements of the activity, then encouraged them to refer to the directions. Unless a learner rushed to complete the activity, few learners completed the discussion activity at anything less than a good achievement level.

_____

A Communication Plan Discussion

This module emphasizes the importance of having a communication plan to clearly state expectations to learners at the beginning of a course.


DIRECTIONS

For this activity, you will submit a draft Communication Plan that must include the following information:

  • Physical and/or virtual office hours dates/times

  • Response time for email inquiries

  • Response time for feedback on assignments

  • When grade postings may be expected

  • Netiquette statement for online communication and/or etiquette statement for classroom communication

Choose at least two (2) of your colleagues' threads to review and provide feedback. Your reply should identify strengths and may include suggestions for improvements. Remember to provide feedback that is professional, polite, and follow the rules of netiquette as stated in the course Syllabus.


INSTRUCTIONS

Create a new Thread to post your response to the discussion prompt. Reply to at least two (2) of your colleagues' threads. Refer to the Discussion Rubric to ensure you have all the components necessary to complete this discussion.


This discussion is worth 20 pts.

DISCUSSION RUBRIC

Focus on Topic

Exceptional - Addressed all aspects of the forum requirements or questions and provided examples of own experiences.

Good - Addressed all aspects of the forum requirements or questions. Did not provide examples of own experiences.

Average - Addressed some aspects of the forum requirements or questions. Did not provide examples of own experiences.

Poor - Did not address the forum requirements or questions. Did not provide examples of own experiences.


Interaction

Exceptional - Meaningful feedback is provided to 2 or more posts. Promotes interaction by asking questions and builds upon or refutes colleagues' post.

Good - Meaningful feedback is provided to 1 other post. Promotes interaction by asking questions and builds upon or refutes colleagues' post.

Average - Replied to others' posts, but with no specific feedback.

Poor - Did not reply to any posts.


Depth

Exceptional - Post consists of at least one paragraph (4 or more sentences long).

Good - Post is 2-3 sentences long.

Average - Post is at least 1 sentence or consists only of bullet points or keywords.

Poor - Post does not consist of complete sentences or ideas.

_____


Summary

Rubrics are used as an evaluation and communication tool. A rubric divides an assessment into parts or chunks and provide specifics of what constitutes acceptable or unacceptable levels of performance for each of those parts.

Both faculty members and learners benefit from the use of rubrics that identified clear goals and expectations, provided clarification of instructions, and allowed for efficient grading of activities and assessments.


A few tips are provided for creating a rubric as a reusable learning object that consists of criterion, achievement levels, and performance descriptors.


Next Steps

I recommend searching online for examples of different types of rubrics you could create for your activities and assessments. Login or Sign up to share any additional tips or information about rubrics I might've missed in this post.


If you liked this post, check back for more posts. Subscribe if you would like to receive email notifications when I upload a new post.


Thank you for reading.


Respectfully,

Jernaley

 

Disclaimer: All views and opinions belong solely to Jernaley based on her own experiences, tips, and opinions. They are not representative of any person, institution, or organization Jernaley may or may not be associated with professionally or personally, unless explicitly stated and quoted.

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