Rubrics help clarify what it is that you are expecting students to produce and to ensure that outcomes are met, this article will show you examples of rubrics to use in your course
What is a rubric?
A rubric is a set of marking criteria, linked to course learning outcomes, against which an assignment is marked.
Why have a rubric?
Rubrics help clarify what it is that you are expecting students to produce and to ensure that outcomes are met. This is important from the teacher’s point of view but also the students’. If a student knows that they will be marked on the structure and logic of their argument then that is what they will focus on. Rubrics also allow students to mark their own assessments before they hand them in encouraging them to aim high.
Rubrics also contribute to moderation as it is obvious whether or not the learning outcomes have been aligned (pre-moderation) and they provide the pathway to more consistent marking (post-moderation.
A rubric can also be a teaching tool. For instance if the rubric includes APA referencing then students will need to know how to do that and if necessary this can become a teaching moment.
Rubrics help teachers:
- Assess assignments consistently from student-to-student
- Save time in grading, both short-term and long-term
- Give timely, effective feedback and promote student learning in a sustainable way
- Clarify expectations and components of an assignment for both students and markers
- Refine teaching methods by evaluating rubric results
- They are a great tool to evaluate teamwork and individual contribution to group tasks
- Rubrics facilitate peer-review by setting evaluation standards
Rubrics help students:
- Understand expectations and components of an assignment
- Become more aware of their learning process and progress
- Improve work through timely and detailed feedback
- Students can use them for self-assessment to improve personal performance and learning
- For larger assignments, have students use the rubric to provide peer assessment on various drafts
- Motivate students to improve their work by using rubric feedback to resubmit their work incorporating the feedback (Teaching Resources, n.d.)
Examples
The following examples of rubrics are deliberately simple to show the intent of the rubric in different contexts. They can (and usually are) a lot more complex with more criteria and more levels within the ratings.
Project
W
Written Assessment
Annotated Bibliography
Poetry Performance/Speaking
or help with setting up rubrics in Canvas click here.
References
Grainger, P. a. (2016). An alternative grading tool for enhancing assessment practice and quality assurance in higher education. Innovation in Education and Teaching International, 53(1), 73-83.
Teaching Resources. (n.d.). (C. University, Producer) Retrieved from Centre for Teaching Innovation: https://teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-resources/assessment-evaluation/using-rubrics