This week we learned how to do a rubric. I felt that this class was fun and it will certainly
help me remember the important thing about creating and using a rubric. First, we had to create a rubric to grade
chocolate chip cookies. This was a fun assignment;
we broke into groups and discussed what we thought of as our perfect
cookie. Once we agreed on the points
that needed to be graded, we created the rubric. After we came back from our observations, we
then had to use another groups rubric to grade seven different cookies. This was a fun experience. It really made us think about the purpose of
a rubric.
During the discussion afterwards, some important points came
out. The Oreo cookie was not a chocolate
chip cookie so it scored low on many rubrics even though most people said it
was their favorite cookie. This is important
because it shows that we must be clear about what we want to get out of an assignment
so that the students know what is expected of them, and then can give us back
work that reflects what we want. Secondly,
we discussed how expectations could color the scouring of work. We all had preconceived notions about the Snakwell
cookie, but a well written rubric can eliminate bias and make the points being
graded very clear so that the teacher can grade the students objectively. I know that I will not be able to write a rubric
in the future without thinking about cookies!
I thought this class was a lot of fun! it was very laid back but I still feel like I learned a lot. An important point I think you brought up was to not have preconceived notions before scoring anything. This is something I didn't really think of. I think it is very important to be fair when scoring anything and that the work should be graded and not the person. This definitely correlates to how we had to score some of the cookies. Some may not have been the best tasting cookies but according to the rubric, they met the criteria so they received a good score. The work should be graded as it aligns with the rubric and nothing else. However, like you said, that means having a well written rubric.
ReplyDeleteI do think that the most important feature of a rubric is showing and explaining to students what we are looking for and our expectations. If we knew that there was going to be an Oreo competing for the best chocolate chip cookie, we probably would have set up some rules about who can be judged/graded. This experience definitely opened my eyes a little better towards rubrics, enough so that I can hopefully make useful rubrics in the future (if needed).
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI would agree with you about how the rubrics need to be clear enough for the student, or the reader in our case during the activity, can see what exactly is going to be graded or judged. But, I think another good reason for the rubrics to be clear is so that the teacher can have a guide of what to grade and how those components should be scored. In class we talked about the reasoning behind including the Oreo or the Snackwell cookies. These cookies were still given some score even if they weren’t chocolate chip cookies. This could be applied to projects and students handing in a video when you asked for an essay. Should there be something in the rubric that allows students to be creative? I think so. Do you?