Author: Ragena Mize

Faculty ToolBox -Something to consider...

Assessment Newsletter Ragena Mize Ext. 371 rmize@cloud.edu
Director of Assessment, Accreditation & Program Development

November 2014

- rubrics -
A rubric is a scoring tool that explicitly represents the performance expectations for an assignment or piece of work. A rubric divides the assigned work into component parts and provides clear descriptions of the characteristics of the work associated with each component, at varying levels of mastery. Rubrics can be used for a wide array of assignments: papers, projects, oral presentations, artistic performances, group projects, etc. Rubrics can be used as scoring or grading guides, to provide formative feedback to support and guide ongoing learning efforts, or both.
Using a rubric provides several advantages to both instructors and students. Grading according to an explicit and descriptive set of criteria that is designed to reflect the weighted importance of the objectives of the assignment helps ensure that the instructor’s grading standards don’t change over time. Grading consistency is difficult to maintain over time because of fatigue, shifting standards based on prior experience, or intrusion of other criteria. Furthermore, rubrics can reduce the time spent grading by reducing uncertainty and by allowing instructors to refer to the rubric description associated with a score rather than having to write long comments. Finally, grading rubrics are invaluable in large courses that have multiple graders (other instructors, teaching assistants, etc.) because they can help ensure consistency across graders and reduce the systematic bias that can be introduced between graders.
Used more formatively, rubrics can help instructors get a clearer picture of the strengths and weaknesses of their class. By recording the component scores and tallying up the number of students scoring below an acceptable level on each component, instructors can identify those skills or concepts that need more instructional time and student effort.
Grading rubrics are also valuable to students. A rubric can help instructors communicate to students the specific requirements and acceptable performance standards of an assignment. When rubrics are given to students with the assignment description, they can help students monitor and assess their progress as they work toward clearly indicated goals. When assignments are scored and returned with the rubric, students can more easily recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their work and direct their efforts accordingly .
The following is taken from Vincent Tinto’s Taking Student Success Seriously in the College Classroom (2011) regarding assessment and feedback. “Students are more likely to succeed in classrooms that assess their performance and provide frequent feedback about their performance in ways that enable everyone – students, faculty, and staff alike – to adjust their behaviors to better promote student success in the classroom. This is especially true during the first year when students are trying to adjust their behaviors to the new academic and social demands of college life.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES/EXAMPLES:
This link using the traditional Bloom’s Taxonomy, but it is from a community college on writing objectives and useful in helping instructors write objectives
http://teaching.uncc.edu/sites/teaching.uncc.edu/files/media/files/file/GoalsAndObjectives/BloomWritingObjectives.pdf
This link is great for integrating critical thinking into mathematics
http://www.math.toronto.edu/writing/BloomsTaxonomy.pdf
This link offers college teaching tips using Bloom’s Taxonomy http://collegeteachingtips.com/354/blooms-taxonomy
Crash Course on Bloom’s Taxonomy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fy5MUzdWMg
Explanation of Bloom’s & Examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv-cL8dwaA0
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/147590378/How-to-Teach-Critical-Thinking

There are a variety of assessment techniques that can be used to assess student learning and trigger academic intervention when necessary. Classroom assessment techniques like the “one-minute” paper and the “muddiest point” have been in practice for decades. What is new is the availability of technologies that allow us to easily capture and analyze more and different data in ways that can provide a clearer view into student learning.
A survey was conducted regarding Student Perceptions of Rubric Effectiveness in spring 2008. The majority of students surveyed said that:
• They learn more when they have a rubric.
• When a teacher uses a rubric, students are more organized, produce stronger work,
work harder, and have fewer questions about assignments.
• They usually read most of the rubric.
• 28% reported that rubrics help them to be more creative.
Rubric Resources
RCampus' iRubric
A free online resource that helps create rubrics in a collaborative learning environment.
RubiStar
A free online website tool developed through the Advanced Learning Technologies (ALTEC) project at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning helps visitors create rubrics.
Technology—Downloads
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php Rubric Generator
http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/ Screen capture recording on Windows or Mac Computers
http://www.remind.com Safe way for teachers to text students
http://microsoft-photo-story.en.softonic.com/ Create photo presentation & save as video file
BE SURE TO CHECK THE CLOUD.EDU WEBSITE—HOVER OVER THE ACADEMIC TAB, THEN CLICK ON ASSESSMENT, THEN CLICK ON INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES...MANY LINKS FOR RUBRICS AS WELL AS OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES.
“We Learn . .10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we see and hear
70% of what we discuss
80% of what we experience
95% of what we teach others.” - William Glasser, M.D.
See the next page for a Rubric on Communicating Effectively

Criteria	4 / Exemplary	3 / Proficient	2 / Developing	1 / Beginning
1 / Organization, Structure	The message / Is logically and fully developed consistent with the constraints of the audience and the intent of the message; / Is purposeful and coherent.	The message / contains elements of logical development / contains clear transitions / has a recognizable flow of ideas.	The message / lacks a logical organization / is sometimes disjointed and/or awkward.	The message / has no discernible organizational structure / contains random, unconnected elements.
2 / Support, Evidence	The message / is well-developed with varied and appropriate supports: / e.g. examples, illustrations, details, / e.g. documentation, citations, empirical evidence, outside sources, etc., attributing sources as appropriate. (see note below)	The message / is developed with appropriate though limited support, / generally attributes sources as appropriate.	The message / includes weak and/or inappropriate support. / Sources are inconsistently attributed.	The message / lacks evidence / and/or fails to attribute sources.
3 / Content	The message / is engaging. / provides significant insight, or new information, or a useful perspective from the work. (see notes below)	The message / is clear, accurate, and appropriate. / provides insight, or enough information to make an informed decision.	The message / is somewhat inaccurate or unclear. / provides little insight or information.	The message / is distorted or contains misinformation. / confuses or misleads.
4 / Technique	The message / is free of technical errors and/or errors of convention relevant to the specific medium or genre. / Technique is used in a sophisticated, or creative, or nuanced manner.	The message / is generally free of technical errors or errors of convention relevant to the specific medium or genre. / errors do not interfere with meaning.	Repeated technical errors or errors of convention interfere with the audience’s ability to understand the intended meaning.	Technical errors or errors of convention make it impossible for the audience to understand the intended meaning.
5 / Presentation	The style and tone of the message enhances its effectiveness; the message has discernible style and elegance.	The style and tone of the message supports its effectiveness.	The style and tone of the message supports effectiveness in some aspects and undermines it in others.	The style and tone of the message undermines its effectiveness.
6 / Purpose or Effect	The overall purpose or effect of the message is easily understood and clearly conveyed (may require subtlety and nuance in some disciplines).	The overall purpose or effect of the message can be discerned with some effort.	The purpose or effect of the message is vague or unclear.	The purpose or effect of the message is not at all apparent or is missing.
NOTES: / If a score falls between categories, give the lower score. / Not all artifacts may include citation/attribution of source material / “Audience” generally refers to the scorers using the rubric, but may also include original audience members in the case of a presentation, performance or speech.

Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy / Thinking Category	Sample Operational Verbs
REMEMBER / Retrieving relevant knowledge from long-term memory (lower level skills)	Articulate, Define, Find, Identify, Label, List, Locate, Name, Quote, Recall, Recognize, Reproduce, Retrieve
UNDERSTAND / Determining the meaning of instructional messages, including oral, written, and graphic communication (lower level)	Associate, Comment, Describe, Differentiate, Discuss, Explain, Express, Extend, Exemplify, Generalize, Illustrate, Interpret, Paraphrase, Predict, Report, Restate, Reword, Summarize, Translate
APPLY / Carrying out or using a procedure in a given situation	Carry out, Conduct, Compute, Dramatize, Employ, Execute, Experiment, Give Examples, Investigate, Use, Implement, Interview, Operate, Practice, Predict, Role-play, Solve, Transfer
ANALYZE / Breaking material into its constituent parts and detecting how the parts relate to one another and to an overall structure or purpose	Attribute, Classify, Contrast, Compare, Deconstruct, Debate, Deduce, Diagram, Differentiate, Discriminate, Distinguish, Examine, Integrate, Organize, Outline, Relate, Research, Separate, Structure
EVALUATE / Making judgments based upon criteria and standards	Alpha/Beta Test, Appraise, Assess, Check, Conclude, Convince, Critique, Defend, Detect, Judge, Moderate, Monitor, Predict, Rate, Recommend, Support, Test
CREATE / Putting elements together to form a novel, coherent whole or make an original product	Assemble, Compose, Create, Choreograph, Construct, Design, Devise, Formulate, Generate, Invent, Make, Mix, Plan, Produce, Program, Set up, Remix