Well, we have a lot to focus on with our final project for class- but one of the most important aspects of the project is a rubric. A rubric for us. A rubric for our students. Some way to note what it is we are exactly "looking" for and how we are going to measure. I personally, love when an instructor provides a rubric. I'm a visual learner- so this really helps me paint the picture of what it is I'm supposed to be doing. It also helps me check my work to be sure I've included all of the requirements.
This week I have played around with rubric websites- I checked out rubistar.4teachers.org/ as well as http://www.techtrain.org/teacher_tools.htm and http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/. I found that they are each pretty simple to follow and design. They have pre-made rubrics or step-by-step rubrics that you can create on your own. I also found that once you have the concept of what to include, creating your own rubric can be pretty fun!
The one thing I would like to be more involved in is using e-Portfolios. I think this is a great way to document student work and growth. It also helps provide information for parents and intervention teachers to see areas of strengths and challenges.
My undergraduate assessment class was one of my favorites. I remember my professor stressing the importance of "No surprises- no excuses". If we don't surprise our students with material that is unexpected when assessing- our students can not offer excuses for what they are expected to do. In taking this course and others that focus on 21st century learning, I think performance is very important to consider when we assess. So many of the 21st century skills can be demonstrated through performance and we should be mindful of this as educators. Not all skills and learning need a paper-based test. We should try to incorporate alternative assessments and performance based assessments to give all students a chance to showcase their curricular skills and 21st century abilities. And no matter what assessment method we choose- rubrics are very important in helping students understand the expectations, while also giving the teacher a consistent measure for all students.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. I also like rubrics for myself as well as for my students. I like to know ahead of time exactly what my expectations are and what I need to accomplish. It is a way to help me keep organized and to organize my thoughts. I think this is important for our students as well. A rubric is also important for us as educators to keep us focused on what the outcome should be and how we can tweak our instruction if we need to.
I like how you pointed out how not all learning has to be paper/pencil based. Many things can be assessed though performing a task. This can touch on many learning styles and can prove to be so much more informative of what the student really can or cannot do.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI liked your quote about "no surprise, no excuses." That is definitley words to live by when building a rubric or even an assessment. I also agree that preformances task can be much more important and meaningful then pen and paper. I am finding this is true especially in math. There are just so many more layers to assessment then that basic piece. It really is a disjustice to our kids if we are not giving them every oppurtunity to truly show what they know.
Hi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteYOu and I are so on the same page about rubrics. I have been using them for at least 16-20 years of my career. I think they need to be visible to all students at all times, therefore should be on classroom bulletin boards or walls and either "hole punched " for binders or pasted into the copy books of the little ones.
Students need to be able to look at the parameters of an assignment with one glance or with one click if online. I also think rubrics are the fairest way to grade assignments.
Warmly,
Karen