The online environment is viral and sterile. Unless the teacher develops rapport through email and synchronous chat,the student will not be able to build a relationship like in brick and motor schools. The only contact an instructor will have with a student is through grading.When an instructor have dialogue with a student, the understanding of information is better. Rubrics open up that line of conversation that is needed to build student's strengths and help with weaknesses. Students are more apt to discuss the grade if there are criteria then to get angry about the grade and challenge the score. This reassures the student and assures the instructor and his or her direct report to make sure that everything is fair and consistent.
Wayne,
Sounds like you have rubrics figured out. Love it. You are right on target in that they should help the students improve as well. Nice job.
In an online course in which words are a premium (too few and you don’t get the message across – too many and the student gets lost in the details), a rubric can convey a great deal of information with an economy of words. I have used rubrics for all of my traditional and online instructional experiences and found the only grades that get contested are those cases in which the student did not read the rubric.
I do feel however that the rubric is only a foundation on which to build constructive evaluations the student can use moving forward. In other words, “This is the score you received in each category, AND here is how to improve in the future.
Beverly,
I looks your use of transparent. That really clarifies the use of rubrics. Tha is.
Walter,
And they also help students understand expectations and achieve the learning outcomes. Thanks for your input.
I like using rubrics for my online as well as my on ground students because it helps make the learning process as transparent as possible. Often times, students will argue that they do not know what the instructor expects from them in the assignment. Providing the students with rubrics when the assignments are handed out clears any ambiguity that the student may have about the assignment expectations. The students know at the onset what they need to do to achieve a certain score and it makes the grading easier and more objective. They is not as much gray areas for me when I use rubrics.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson,
As an online instructor, it is important to use a rubrics for two reasons: It helps clarify what is expected and decreases the grade disputes. A rubrics is also a tools that protects the instructor from legal actions based upon bias or perceived bias toward a certain student.
Sincerely,
Walter
9-6-12
David,
Glad you are using rubrics effectively. They are so important and help the instructor and students as well. Nice job.
Janelle,
Don't forget that they help the studnets understand the project/assignment more and should be used to help them understand the expectations/learning outcomes. Thanks!
As a Criminal Justice instructor, I find it very important to use rubrics. It is essential for the student to understand what they have done correctly within their paper, and any information that may be lacking or needs improvement. I find that I can provide a very detailed analysis of their paper with rubrics. This helps the student understand what they need to do going forward for future papers as well. The student becomes aware of what is expected, and helps them to better judge the quality of their work. It is also a great advantage that it saves time once the rubric has been created for me specifically on evaluating their work.
I think that it is important to use rubrics to have consistency with grading. Rubrics help me to use the criteria to be sure that I am grading students fairly.
Theresa and Christina,
I agree. The rubric roadmap is a true connection between the learning objectives and the students. Thanks.
Jade,
Yes, the key is that rubrics benefit both students and instructors. Nice job.
Ed,
And are essential for instructors too. It is all good!
Christina,
I have to agree with your and think that is is really the roadmap for the student to use. I think that the rubric should be posted to allow the student to use it as a guide..
Theresa
Once established, rubrics can increase an assessment's construct and overall validity by in essence,creating an alignment of evaluation in accordance with standards, curriculum and/or instruction. In addition, rubrics can assist learners in setting goals before the direction of their work and hold them accountable for their learning and performance. It is argued that rubrics allow instructors to spend less time constructing quantitative and qualitative feedback while at the same time, allowing learners to better gauge their performance and make necessary adjustments across time.
Jade Pumphrey
Rubrics are essential to help evaluate a student so that he can identify his own weaknesses and can then improve upon them.
Jocelyn,
You are spot on with your comments. I love anything that reduces tension. ;-)
A rubric is a clear and identifiable yard stick that the online student can check with prior to submitting their assignments. If the rubric is well designed, the student knows exactly what the instructor is grading on. This decreases some of the tension related to remote learning.
Jocelyn M. Dervis
Antoinette,
Right on! When we see it from the students' perspective, we learn a lot! Also, when everyone understands the expectations, everyone benefits. Thanks!
