Using Rubrics to Grade, Assess, and Improve Learning

1. Using Rubrics to Grade, Assess, and Improve Learning Mary Allen March 7, 2014

2. My Goal Each of you will leave this room with at least one new idea for using rubrics to foster student learning.

3. Academic Program Assessment Assessment is an on-going process designed to monitor and improve student learning. Faculty: • develop explicit statements of what students should learn (student learning outcomes) • require students to perform each outcome • assess how well students performed each outcome • use results to improve student learning of each outcome (close the loop)

4. Assessing the Evidence • Usually involves subjective judgments • Rubrics provide the criteria to guide these judgments

5. Rubrics • Holistic • Analytic

6. Rubric Examples • Campus Examples • AAC&U VALUE Rubrics

7. The rubric communicates what the outcome really means because it specifies the criteria for assessing its mastery.

8. Criterion-Referenced Judgments • Did this student meet our criteria? • How well did this student do compared to other students?

9. Creating a Rubric • Adapt an already-existing rubric • Analytic method

10. Drafting the Rubric • Consider starting at the extremes • Some words I find useful

11. Rubric Criteria • Which do you prefer? • Why?

12. Let’s give it a try. • Group collaboration rubric

13. Rubrics Across the Curriculum • Students learn to do things better by practice with feedback. • What would happen if your students were given feedback on the same writing rubric for every paper they wrote in your curriculum or the same speaking rubric for every presentation they made in your curriculum?

14. Adapting Assessment Rubrics for Grading • Four examples • You don’t have to like all of them.

15. Grading Using This Rubric • Every student receives explicit feedback on at least three major dimensions of speaking. • Faculty can grade students rapidly. • Students can give quick feedback to their peers. • Students and you can track improvements on at least three dimensions. • Combining student data on each dimension allows you to identify which aspects of the outcome students are achieving and which they are not achieving at the level you expect.

16. Give it a try. • Imagine we finished the Group Collaboration Rubric on page 4. • How would you adapt this rubric to grade your students’ group collaboration skills? • Explain to someone near you why you prefer your adaptation.

17. Rubrics Can: • Speed up grading • Clarify expectations to students • Reduce student grade complaints • Help faculty create better assignments • Help faculty tailor instruction to meet students’ needs

18. Suggestions for Using Rubrics in Courses • As we discuss each idea, think about how you could adapt it for use in your own courses. • You don’t have to like every idea.

19. Suggestions for Using Rubrics in Courses • Share and discuss grading rubrics in advance. • Integrate rubrics into lectures and activities. • Develop a rubric with your students. • Have students apply the rubric to samples. • Have students give peer feedback. • Have students self-assess.

20. Discuss with someone near you how you might use one or more of these ideas in a course you teach.

21. Ideas to Consider • Use program assessment to improve students' learning opportunities. • Work with colleagues to integrate assessment rubrics across your curriculum. • Adapt assessment rubrics for grading in your courses. • Integrate rubrics into courses: • share grading rubrics with students before they do their work • integrate rubrics into lectures or activities • develop rubrics with your students • have students apply rubrics to sample products • have students provide peer feedback using rubrics • have students self-assess using rubrics

22. My Goal Each of you will leave this room with at least one new idea for using rubrics to foster student learning.