Reimagining Remote Teaching Volume 16
Happy 2021! I hope each of you had a wonderful break and have come back to work energized and ready to create another round of engaging classes for Spring 2021.
At the end of Fall 2020, most of you had figured out your own personal best practice for your classrooms. One of those included more emphasis on in-class participation. The natural progression from this realization was to look more closely at using grading rubrics in your classes this semester. The following sections provide explanations of the three most common rubrics as well as example wording you can use in your own classrooms.
Holistic Rubrics
A holistic rubric is the most common type of rubric. It typically includes three to five performance categories which are often labeled by grade (A, B, C, D, F), by numbers (5, 4, 3, 2, 1) or words (Exemplary, Satisfactory, etc). After each category has been identified, you then provide one detailed description of the associated characteristics required to reach this level.
Faculty typically use holistic rubrics for several reasons. They are easy to create and make grading easier. Faculty can look over an assignment and give one score for the assignment.
There are drawbacks to holistic rubrics, however. They do not provide targeted feedback to students. Students do not learn much from the provided categories and can result in students asking for additional feedback.
When considering grading participation, Holistic rubrics might be a great tool for you. However, if an assignment is ongoing and requires development by the student to progress with their grade, they do not provide enough feedback to our students.
I will be using this sample holistic rubric to grade each of my Synchronous Course Assignments students will submit during our class sessions each week.
| Excellent | Above Average | Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | Not Applicable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student attended class and participated in all activities. The submission shows exceptional reflection on the day’s discussion. | Student attended class and participated in all activities. The submission shows reflection on the day’s discussion but does require more exploration. Please make sure you answer three questions when reflecting: 1). What was the most important piece of information you need to share? 2). Why is this information so important to understand? and 3.) How does this information help you understand the bigger picture in the course? | Student attended class and participated in most activities. The submission shows poor reflection on the activity but does require more participation and exploration. Please make sure you answer three questions when reflecting: 1). What was the most important piece of information you need to share? 2). Why is this information so important to understand? and 3.) How does this information help you understand the bigger picture in the course? | Student attended class and participated in most activities. The submission shows poor reflection on the activity but does require more participation and exploration. Please make sure you answer three questions when reflecting: 1). What was the most important piece of information you need to share? 2). Why is this information so important to understand? and 3.) How does this information help you understand the bigger picture in the course? |
Analytic Rubrics
Analytic Rubrics have two primary parts. The first are the assignment categories, and the second are a series of quality categories for each assignment.
For example, if you asked your students to write a research article summary, you might format your rubric to look like this:
| Task | Exemplary 4 | Accomplished 3 | Developing 4 | Beginning 1 | N/A 0 | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identification of key concepts and ideas | You will write a descriptor for exemplary work. | You will write a descriptor for accomplished work. | You will write a descriptor for developing work. | You will write a descriptor for beginning work. | Not completed | |
| Organization | You will write a descriptor for exemplary work. | You will write a descriptor for accomplished work. | You will write a descriptor for developing work. | You will write a descriptor for beginning work. | Not completed | |
| Grammar | You will write a descriptor for exemplary work. | You will write a descriptor for accomplished work. | You will write a descriptor for developing work. | You will write a descriptor for beginning work. | Not completed |
You would provide a detailed explanation for each score category in the empty boxes. As you grade papers, you would mark the correct column, and provided a score at the end. In this case, your student might score a 3 on identification of key concepts, a 4 on organization, and a 2 on Grammar. This would provide you with an overall score of 9. Students could earn a total of 12 points. When dividing 9 by 12, the student would earn a 75% on the assignment.
An itemized rubric like this provides students with a clear understanding of why they received the grade they received on the assignment. There is no further need to discuss the assignment grade with the student.
While this assignment provides a clear picture for our students, it takes significantly longer to create and use to grade an assignment. Especially when students often do not read all feedback.
I will be using this sample analytic rubric to grade Homework Assignments for our class.
| Criteria | Excellent (100%) | Above Average (85%) | Satisfactory (75%) | Poor (65%) | Not Complete (o%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paraphrases | Concepts and ideas are presented in your own words. Definitions do not use language directly from the textbook. | Paraphrases are not entirely in your own words. At times verbatim language is used. | At least 40% of the language used to explain concepts and ideas come directly from the textbook. | More than 50% of the language used to explain concepts and ideas come directly from the textbook. | No Answer |
| Personal Examples | At least one clearly explained personal example is provided. The explanation includes a what, why, and how this example further develops your understanding of the concept. | A personal example is provided, however the explanation of how it furthers your understanding is missing at least the what, why, or how of the concept. | A personal example is provided, however the explanation of how it furthers your understanding is missing at least two of the following questions when explaining your concept: what, why, or how. | You only list an example. Little to no explanation is attached to the example that helps show your understanding of the concept. | No Answer |
| Insightfulness | Answers presented show an insightfulness of how these concepts impact writing and communication of messages to a reader. Additionally, answers show an application to their own writing and thoughtfulness. | Answers presented some insightfulness in how these concepts influence writing and communication. Moderate application of concepts to their own writing. | Answers presented show minimal insightfulness in how these concepts influence writing and communication. Minimal application of concepts to their own writing. | Answers are superficial in nature and do not show insight into writing and influence on writing and communication. | No Answer |
Single-Point Rubrics
Single-point rubrics are most often used for formative feedback for your students. They can be used to provide insights on papers, quizzes, journals, or reflections while students are progressing and growing in their thinking during the class.
Typically, these rubrics break an assignment into different criteria, like the analytic rubric. However, it does not list how a student falls short. Instead, it provides an area for students to see feedback you have provided in two categories: Concerns and Advanced. Concerns provide feedback on how the student can grow and develop in a specific category. Advanced lets students know where they have shown evidence of exceeding standards.
The benefits of this rubric include not having to write as many descriptors for student performance. Additionally, the open-ended nature of the rubric allows you to provided formative feedback for your students as they continue to grow in their work. There are no limitations and there is no cookie-cutter answer, which is beneficial when working with our non-cookie cutter students.
The greatest drawback with this type of rubric, however, is the time commitment required for our completing. When using one of these, it is best you do not use them for all assignments. Instead, use them for the most important learning assignments your students complete during the semester.
Recommended Use
If you choose to use rubrics this semester, I recommend using holistic rubrics for any assignments submitted during class time to show attendance. These assignments can include copy / paste of a collaborative document or a brief reflection added into your blackboard course shell as an assignment. Simply put, showing up to class and engaging in class will allow students to earn full credit for the day.
When it comes to homework assignments, I recommend using the analytic or the single-point rubric. For me, I will be using the analytic for more cut-and-dry homework assignments, like the chapter reading guides students are required to complete. I will use the single-point rubric for the reflection journals students are required to complete weekly. These journals require students to take the content we have discussed during the week and applying it to provided writing prompt that encourages students to apply ideas to the real-world.
Rubric Support
If you need assistance with your rubrics, feel free to reach out to me at your earliest convenience. Additionally, if you need assistance building your rubrics in blackboard, the eLearning team is more than happy to help out!
