Get Your Students Hired
I have found that the consistent use of a grading rubric, provided to the student prior to a lab assessment, clearly defines for the student what they need to study and be able to demonstrate in order to pass. This alleviates a lot of the anxiety a student might feel when knowing how to prepare for the assessment. I appreciated the information on the 3 different categories of competency-bsed assessment. I plan to refer to this to ensure that the lab assessments I provide incorporate all components.
I believe in sound ruberics that make the course expectations and assements spelled out clearly.
Grading rubrics are important for both student and teacher. They help to keep the student on track so they know what is expected of them for the course or test as well as hands on work or labs. This also helps with consistency for a teacher with many students and will aid in grade challenging.
We implemented a rubric grading system for labs about 5 years ago. Students seem less anxious about the labs because it is clearly laid out and they understand was is expected.
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Evaluation has often been a struggle. My personal weakness had been in giving clear goals and objectives. I have found that, by making these clear and providing an example of the evaluation tools I use, student performance and cooperation increased. A number of times, student success had a direct correlation to my effectiveness in conveying my expectations.
Clearly stating expected student behaviors in a rubric using objective descriptions is useful students and faculty alike. Students know what is expected and faculty will decrease student grievances about unfair grading practices. Formative evaluations using objective measures gives student the opportunity to improve improve performance.
Evaluation have always been an essential process in rating the outcomes of students. The use of the rubic is necessary to blot out any challenges and biases.
Ann Nelson
Reply to Katherine Hillerich's post: Admittedly, it is very difficult to get assessments to match up to the individual challenges of each student. And, teachers are not trained in psychoanalysis. Moreover, it can be a slippery slope into subjective grading vs objective grading when accommodations are made for every student. My main nightmare, however, is the student whose grade arbitrarily slips just 6 points from a C- (70) to an F (64.5) because of bad questions or poorly designed assessment structure. Imagine how that plays out, particularly in colleges where that one course prevents one from taking the next course, cost an extra semester in school, extra tuition, extra living expense. Its hard to not lose hope under those circumstances.
That said, I am starting to agree with Sal Kahn of Kahn Academy. Test only the fundamentals of a course, but demand 100% mastery on those items that are required for success at the next level. We should not set students up for failure. This is accomplished mainly by not prescripting the time for accomplishing 100% mastery. Providing for independence in timing of assessments allows faster students to move on, and students who need more time can take some pressure off.
Of course, such an idea is upsetting to the traditional notion of a 'semester' and also of the concept of mass education. But, in truth, there is no 'mass education'. It is a myth we invent to reduce cost. The truth is that we all learn individually. Put 30 students in class and teach them the same thing. Ask what they learned and we get 30 different impressions of it. And some learned nothing due to thinking about other things in their life. All of which suggests that 'mass education' may not be very cost effective all. Sometimes, the main thing students learn is how to obtain answers on the Internet, to get a grade, to pretend they are learning. That sounds awful I know, but fortunately, a good number of students do in fact, learn, at least enough to make it a rewarding profession.
Reply to Michael Taylor's post:
I completely agree with your post. I think it's important to make sure we are assessing our students accurately. In the mental health field, I am familiar with patients and students with psychiatric complications impacting their ability to test effectively. A student with high anxiety may not test well, despite knowing the material. It's important to tailor the assessments to our students as best as we can.
When assessing a competency, it is helpful to put the learning objectives within the lab environment into categories, such as foundation skills, technical skills, and professional skills. This addresses the 3 domains of Bloom's Taxonomy.
I reviewed the knowledge I currently have on setting up assessments in my classroom. I try to follow the steps provided by Bloom for a student to show how they are developing in a class.
I am a big believer in getting assessment right. A student's record, pass rate, GPA, and their future success depend on the vital ability to be given a true evaluation of their skills and understanding. Here is a quick and dirty look at some issues that happen:
As an administrator, I have never witnessed students more upset than when given a bad grade because of a bad assessment.
Evaluating students is essential to the learning outcomes of the students. Utilizing the rubric and the different levels of Bloom's taxonomy is great help in constructing evaluation of students.
I feel that evaluating students in clinical areas might be a challengoing for me. The rubric is definitely a great tool to help with defining expectation/grading of clinical learnin.