Rubrics
Rubrics or an assessment tool is designed to evaluate student participation in an on-line environment. As we all know, rubrics pros, what are the cons when using rubrics? How can these rubrics be more student friendly?
Elizabeth,
There are some cons - as with anything. They can take some time to create initially, but the benefits outweigh any disadvantages in my mind.
Maybe a way to engage the students more and encourage them to be more self-motivated is to actually have them help in creating the rubric. Ask what they think would be goals they'd like to see achieved at the end of the course and identify some objective measures to indicate success.
Jill,
Self-motivation - that's a good point. When they know the expectations and can see how to get there, they are more motivated to try and get there. Thanks!
One con that I have run across in my past is being provided with a very vague and wordy rubric. In my experience this becomes rather frustrating for students, so I spend more time explaining and giving examples of what to expect from the rubric than it's even worth. How do you avoid this when you are given a rubric you must use?
Lauren,
The criteria have to be just right. That is the key. Without clear criteria, the students will be confused.
I agree, as with anything, there are disadvantages. However, for the most part, I find using a rubric being very advantageous. They save time and help grade objectively. However, as you stated, the biggest con can be with creating them. There can be difficulty with setting criteria to define performance.
Kendrick,
There are disadvantages and advantages for everything, but the rubrics (with effective criteria) can be very helpful to all involved. Thanks for your input.
I teach graphic design and rubrics help tremendously in outlining clear, measurable points. I face difficulty when trying to incorporate something that is often times subjective, the design of an element. One of the cons I've run into with creating rubrics to evaluate creative work is how to be able to use the same evaluation on some very different, but equally creative approaches.
Heather,
Great. Glad you are using rubrics and they are working for your students and you. The consistency in evaluation does not stifle the creativity. That's a key element as well. Thanks for bringing that up.
