I love rubrics! :) I think they are helpful for both the student and the instructor. For the student, the role is to provide them some guidelines on how to do their work (if it is provided before grading). And then after grading, it gives the student a clear understanding of how they were assessed.
For the instructor, I have found it to make my grading less arbitrary from paper to paper. It helps give me a clear guide for what the different grades should be for the class. Then after the fact, it gives me an easy way to explain to students why their grades are what they are if they come to me for more explanation.
LaBoore,
Yes, the students should have a clear idea of what is expected and then the rubric benefits the instructor as well. Thanks!
The role of a rubric is to make sure that the assessment of the students are fair and consistent. It gives the students an idea of what you are looking for when grading.
Katrina,
Yes, there can be different versions of the same rubric depending on the objectives of the assignment.
Katrina,
I think they are pretty equal in how they help students and instructors. They all benefit from this great tool.
Tomi,
Yes, they are kind of a checklist, but so much more. The criteria and connection to the objectives enhance the rubric's importance. Thanks!
Tomi,
Good point. We just do as much as we can to reduce the subjectivity in the assessment process, but we should be experts in our field. Thanks!
Tomi,
Thanks for including that the rubrics help both the instructors and students.
Nice job.
Katrina,
And, don't forget how rubrics help the online instructor as well. We need them as much (or more) than the students.
Troy,
Glad you find rubrics helpful. I know your students do too. You're right in that the categories (and criteria) are the essential elements. Thanks!
Chander,
Again - great terms you use to describe rubrics. "Benchmark" and "Fairness" - what more could we ask for in a tool. Thanks!
Wayne ,
Love our term of "common lens." That's perfect. Thanks for your input.
ROBERT,
And, don't forget what all rubrics do for the students. Rubrics are tools that help all involved - students and instructor. Thanks!
I think that this is the main purpose of rubrics. They are more for students than they are for instructors.
I agree that rubrics can be used as sort of a checklist to ensure that all aspects are considered.
I fully agree with this. I have seen many different interpretations of the same rubric :-)
I do not think that subjective always means unfair. There is always an element of subjectivity and I feel that there always should be. That is, after all, why we are expected to have the proper expertise and credentials to teach the subject matter we teach. Our subjective opinion should be an expert opinion.
Rubric will communicate the expectations of the assignment to the learner. It also provides a framework and guideline to the instructor when grading assignments.
Rubric will offer guidelines for grading and communicate the expectations of the the assignment to the student.
A rubric's role is to make the assessment process objective for all students. Students will then have a better idea about why they might have received a particular score. This will be easier on the instructor, since rubrics will provide an answer to student questions and reduce to amount of time needed by instructors to explain how a particular grade was calculated. I find rubrics to be very helpful when grading weekly discussion question responses and assignments for my online courses. The important thing to remember is to be sure to link categories in the rubric with course outcomes!
