I think this helps instructors to grade less subjectively and also make it clear to students why they have received the grade they have.
Stephanie,
True, and it is important for students to know expectations before they assessed.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Also, you can show the students the rubrics before any grading even takes place. This creates a transparency for them and takes out any mystery about how their grades were assessed.
Nicholas ,
You are right. Students know what is expected of them. There are no surprises.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I think grading rubrics are important to have for all types of grading assessments since I believe grading is one of the hardest jobs of a teacher. A grading rubric ensures that you are being fair to all students. Not only do you ensure you are being fair, but now the student also knows what is expected of them and why they received the grade they did.
lindsey,
You really nailed the value of the rubric. It does help with fairness which students will misinterpret if there is no standard to evaluate.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I think grading rubrics are so important because they give both the instructor and student guidelines for what is to be expected with the product that is being submitted.
Subjective grading of work is very time consuming for the instructor and may lead students to believe that the instructor is playing "favorites" in assigning grades.
Students need to know what is expected of them and how they can earn a passing grade.
Chrissy,
You are right, rubrics can actually save instructor time. That can be very important.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I also like to encourage students to use rubrics like a checklist for their work particularly when they are finishing up a writing project.
If the rubric is designed with this in mind, it can help to remind students of the details that go into finishing up a term paper, including such things as proofreading, checking grammar, and paragraph structure, as well as the technical requirements for the particular assignment.
I encourage professors to use the rubric when scoring students' work, so that students can readily see where they met the established expectations set forth in the rubric, and where they fell short of what was required.
This helps students learn how to create more professional higher quality work.
Carole,
You make a great point. Do we take the time to teach students how to use the rubrics. I am going to create a tutorial for students regarding best practices for students to use a rubric.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hi Jean,
I think students want to understand how they will be evaluated so that they can self review prior to submitting. Understanding what needs to be included and the various levels of performance is a task that can help students achieve the highest grade possible.
Thanks, Shannon
Shannon,
You are right. Students do want to know the evaluation process and criteria. It is no different in the workplace; the employee knows what their employee evaluation will be based.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hi Dr. Kelly! I’m curious you mentioned that you were going to create a tutorial for students about how to use the rubrics. Would it be anything you could share with the forum? I’d really like to incorporate something like that into our introduction class. Also I agree with Carole’s point that rubrics are a good checklist for students to use. I’m surprised when I receive projects submitted that don’t follow rubric expectations. It clearly shows which students didn’t review the live chat material or simply didn’t make the time to properly complete the assignment.
Helena,
Let me see what I can do. I will post it in this forum.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I think rubrics give a baseline for both the instructor and the students. Students have to know what you as the instructor are looking for when it comes to responding and producing content. The instructor needs to know what they will accept as sufficient for understanding then work up the learning ladder. Higher points can be assigned if students go beyond the rubric baseline. Win win for everyone!
Thank you
Kimberley,
I with you. I do discuss the rubric with my students and remind them about being average. It does help me set expectations!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
