The instructor can be too narrow in the rubric criteri, thus making it limited in scope. Other important factors may be omitted. The instructor could also make the criteria so difficult to fulfill, thus frustrating the student and making it difficult to do comparative assessments.
Hi All,
Reading this it appears I may have been making quite a few mistakes. Mind you…this is my first real class in rubrics, so it’s all a learning process. I clearly need to watch some of these. For example I quite often name a specific number of sources that need to be used.
That said I have worked hard to ensure I am offering very detailed feedback that explains what was weak and how specifically it could be improved upon for the next assignment. Feedback is a prime tool, if you treat it like this, for instruction. This is particularly easy, I find, within the framework of clear rubric criteria. I know it is helpful for students to see the expectation and then receive feedback on how that expectation was met or not. The key (for me) is to then explain how they can achieve it for the next assignment.
James.
My biggest mistake is that I tend to not use rubrics. I will not try to implement this into my courses.
I would suspect that the major hurdle is building the rubric around the outcomes for the class, especially if those outcomes are fuzzy or not entirely clear.
Daniel,
I agree. Students can get confused when there is a range in a score for a particular section on a rubric. Being clear and consistent is the key. Thanks for your input.
Dr. Tena B. Crews
Adib,
Clarity is important when developing criteria for you rubrics. This will alleviate many questions and confusion. Nice job.
Dr. Tena B. Crews
I think there are a couple of different mistakes that I have seen in Rubrics created for online course shells that I have taught over the years.
The first, and I had not thought about this until this course, is the inconsistency of point values assigned to a level within the rubric. For example, giving point values as a range instead of a single number. IE: a section that "proficient in grammar" gives 2-5 points. How is a student supposed to know what the difference two point and five point grammar? I see this a lot in rubrics that I am required to use.
Also, sometimes rubrics are overcomplicated. We want to get so many objectives into these things, but we fail to realize that some categories can be used across the spectrum of objectives in a task. At one place I teach, the rubric has ten different categories, each with seven different levels. This is not very productive, and I think it creates a mess when the student is trying to understand the feedback.
Elzabeth,
Have you found that since you revised your rubric to focus more on the research elements rather than APA, that your student performance grades have improved?
I think one of the biggest mistakes an instructor can make online is not providing enough detailed information in the rubric. You want to ensure that your rubric clearly identifies the key performance areas you want your students to hit, on the assignment. A very generic rubric can often be perceived as unclear and therefore not very helpful for students.
Willie and Joseph,
Thanks for continuing the conversation about rubrics. We continue to learn from each other. Thank you.
Willie ,
Criteria is essential. And, it is important not to try to assess too many different things in one rubric. Thanks for your input.
Joesph, from what I learned in the class I took this semester in Instructional Technology, to help us develop effective rubrics we should talk with colleagues about characteristics of quality vs. mediocre student work. Then define for ourselves what is a “quality†performance or product. It’s always a good idea to gather samples of rubrics that we can adapt, including those focused on the different communication modes, skills, and proficiency levels. We should always think about the criteria that are important for a given performance or product by examining samples of student work at the novice, intermediate, and advanced proficiency levels and considering the characteristics of each level. Finally, and this is mentioned in the lesion for this unit, we should limit the number of criteria so that the rubric is no longer than one page and includes what is most important. Then develop quality descriptions for each. These are just a few of the things I have learned thus far about effectively creating rubrics.
According to the readings in this section, putting too much criteria is a downfall for creating rubric. We should remember that a rubric is often presented as a type of matrix that provides scaled levels of achievement or performance for a set of criteria or dimensions of quality for a particular assessment task, e.g., a paper, an oral presentation, use of teamwork skills or a work placement. The descriptions of the possible levels of attainment for each of the criteria or dimensions of performance are described fully enough to make them useful for judgment of, or reflection on, progress toward intended learning outcomes (even though I got this question wrong on the quiz!!). Along with this, not allowing for students to see improvement is another mistake. According to the readings for this unit, criteria should be measured in a way for students to see progression in their work.
Shana,
I can see that that could be a challenge. Good students can be used to your benefit. Thanks for your input.
Sometimes the math calculations can become a challenge. But adept students are quick to point out errors and help the instructor make changes.
Janis,
If they are provided to you, please make sure they assess the learning outcomes of the courese. This is essential. If you can include the learning outomces in the actual rubric, even better. If you have a learning outcombe based on APA formatting, it's not too much.
At AIU we do have our rubrics provided to us. I often time think that they need improvement.
Are we allowed to change the rubrics at all IF we were to post something in advance.
Is about 10% of the overall written assignment based on APA formatting, citations, etc. or is that too much?
Darcel,
Participation could be one of the components of the rubric, but students should meet the criteria to succeed. Thanks for your input.
As an online instructor when I place the guidelines in my rubric, and I weigh each task based on a finished product it may work for some students but not for all. I may have students who try hard but have a learning problem. In that case I may have to consider adding points for participation.
revonna,
Thanks for your input. You are so right about including too many objectives/criteria. It's better to break it down and 5 is a good number. Thanks again.
