Co-constructing a rubric checklist with first year university students: A self-assessment tool (original) (raw)

Co-constructing a rubric checklist with first year university students

Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies, 2017

This paper reports on a study in which students co-constructed a rubric checklist with their lecturer and which they used to assess themselves. Data were collected by means of a student questionnaire, tutor feedback, as well as tutors’ and lecturers’ observations to ascertain students’ experiences and opinions of the design process and of using the tool to self-assess. The findings show that co-designing the rubric checklist with students increased their motivation and enhanced students’ confidence in completing the task. In addition, students gained enormous benefits from using the rubric checklist as a self-assessment tool. Reflecting critically on the feedback received from students and tutors the authors argue that for enhanced student engagement in the teaching and learning process they should be involved as active participants in the assessment processes. In addition, students need to learn to assess the quality of their own work early in their academic career with continuous ...

The use and design of rubrics to support Assessment for Learning

Scaling up assessment for learning in higher education, 2016

Rubrics are assessment instruments designed to assist in identifying and evaluating qualitative differences in student performance. Research into scoring rubrics has shown that they can serve two purposes: (1) aid assessors in achieving higher levels of consistency when scoring performance tasks, and (2) promote learning and/or improve instruction by making assessment expectations explicit and aiding the feedback process. In this chapter we summarize research on the formative use of rubrics, in order to identify how the use and design of rubrics may be optimized for the purpose of supporting student learning in an environment that often stresses independence and management of own learning. The presentation is organized around two different pathways through which rubrics may support student learning. These are through (a) facilitating the understanding and use of feedback and through (b) supporting students’ self-regulated learning. We also analyze what is known about the implementation of rubrics in higher education, with a particular focus on more sustained and widespread implementations. The implications of these findings for both practice and future research on rubrics are discussed.

Peripheries and praxis: the effect of rubric co-construction on student perceptions of their learning

TEXT, 2019

If we could do this with every subject, open it up to a wider swathe of students having an input would be revolutionary in their learning. (UTS writing lecturer, Owning the Rubric project) The construction of assessment rubrics is often educator-centric as lecturers work in isolation to compose grading tools. While there is a pedagogical goal to construct instruments that align with learning outcomes and guide the assessment of students’ learning, students are often at the periphery of this process. In many higher education institutions, students are accustomed to receiving assessment feedback but they are not, typically, active participants in the feedback cycle. Increasingly, institutions are seeking evidence of greater student engagement in their tertiary learning experience. Accordingly, academics seek to innovate practice and enhance curricula by creating more opportunities for student involvement, thus creating a shared understanding of it and associated assessment tasks. Resp...

Self-Assessment Through Rubrics

2008

Rubrics can be a powerful self-assessment tool-if teachers disconnect them from grades and give students time and support to revise their work. A key element of formative assessment is feedback. The trouble is, most teachers have difficulty finding time to give all students the feedback they need when they need it. Fortunately, students themselves can be excellent sources of feedback. Under the right conditions, student self-assessment can provide accurate, useful information to promote learning. Assessment versus Evaluation During self-assessment, students reflect on the quality of their work, judge the degree to which it reflects explicitly stated goals or criteria, and revise. Self-assessment is formative-students assess works in progress to find ways to improve their performance. Self-evaluation, in contrast, is summative-it involves students giving themselves a grade. Confusion between the two has led to these misconceptions about self-assessment that make many teachers hesitant to try it: (1) Students will just give themselves As, and (2) They won't revise their work anyway, so there's no point in taking time for self-assessment. Can these misconceptions be true? Yes, sadly true-if the results of a self-assessment are counted toward a grade or students are not given time for and help with revision. If, on the other hand, students understand the value of self-assessment, are taught how to do it, share their teacher's understanding of quality (Sadler, 1989), and have the support needed to improve their work, they can accurately self-assess and effectively revise.

A plan for the co-construction and collaborative use of rubrics for student learning

Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 2019

The use of assessment rubrics in the higher education sector is now widespread in a number of disciplines. Typically, these rubrics are constructed by teachers who also tend to be the main users of the rubrics throughout the grading process. In recent years, questions have been raised about this teacher-directed approach and some educators have begun to explore an alternate approach to rubric construction; that is, engaging students in collaboration with their teachers to co-construct assessment rubrics. This paper outlines the processes employed in a project that investigated the co-construction of rubrics within six different contexts. The project aimed to engage students in collaboration with their teachers to co-construct rubrics which are co-owned by teacher and student. A mixed methods approach was utilized to explore the effectiveness of the strategy. Questionnaires, interviews and focus groups were utilized to gather data from both the teacher-participants and student-participants regarding their experiences of being involved in the study. Findings are presented from the perspectives of both students and teachers, relating their views of rubrics and the activity of rubric co-construction. The paper concludes with recommendations for practical approaches to rubric co-construction and future research directions.

Engaging First Year Students in Assessment Rubrics: Three Personal Experiences

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In a direct effort to build a greater understanding of higher education teaching and learning opportunities, this study shares the journey of three university lecturers working to ensure best practice outcomes from criterion-referenced assessment [CRA]. The work was built on a belief that our respective higher education undergraduate students did not fully value the design structure or feedback outcomes inherent in CRA. Using a collaborative autoethnographic lens we pooled experiences, outcomes, challenges, assumptions, and accounts of unconscious biases from across our different tertiary education schools and subjects. Our examination enriched our understanding, our teaching, and our student outcomes. In sharing our journey we offer three unique, yet jointly considered perspectives on using CRA to extend and enhance learning.

Owning the Rubric: Student Engagement in Rubric Design, Use and Moderation

2016

Together the ERG provided feedback, guidance and advice to the project. Thanks also to Professor Kerri-Lee Krause for acting as the project's External Evaluator. The team acknowledges the support of the Department of Education and Training for providing funding for the project. It is acknowledged that the lead institution (Avondale) and partner institutions (CSU and UTS), provided substantial in-kind project funding and support. Finally, we would like to thank all the wonderful lecturer and student Owning the Rubric: Student engagement in rubric design and use v Executive summary The project focuses on collaboratively constructing and using assessment resources designed in partnership between teachers and students in higher education contexts. Traditionally, the early stages of assessment design were the domain of teachers. In recent years, many educators and researchers have called for increased levels of involvement by students during the development of assessment criteria, instructions and rubrics. By engaging students to work collaboratively with their university teachers to prepare and create assessment guidelines and rubrics, there is a greater potential for students to take ownership of and be accountable for their own learning outcomes.

Evaluation of assessment skills using essay rubrics in student self-grading at first year level in higher education: a case study

Journal for Language Teaching

This paper reports on a study in which students self-graded an assessment task with the aid of an assessment rubric. On comparing student selfgrades with those of the tutor it was found that majority (72.6%) of the students failed to demonstrate good self-assessment skills with student grades ranging from 25 less than the tutor grade to an overestimation of 36 above the tutor grade. Consistent with other research studies the results further show that weaker students graded themselves higher than the better performing students. However, there was a tendency for male students to grade themselves higher than female students. Analysis of the qualitative data reveals that students' feelings 2 about self-grading may play a role in the grades they assign themselves. The author therefore recommends that affective factors need to considered and addressed prior to the self-grading task. Furthermore, it is evident that rubrics alone may not necessarily improve selfgrading and that internalisation of the rubric criteria and standards, as well as practice is crucial. Finally, in order to produce graduates who are able to appraise their performance, selfassessment should be embedded early in the students degree programme and be sustained throughout the degree.

Facilitating Student Learning and Engagement in Higher Education Through Assessment Rubrics

2020

Despite significant reforms in the past decade in relation to criteria- and standards-based assessment in tertiary education contexts, assessment remains the most significantly criticised aspect of the student tertiary experience and a major driver of student engagement. The key tool in this experience is the rubric, also known as the criteria sheet or the ‘Guide to Making Judgments’. This book discusses the significance of assessment rubrics in tertiary education. Assessment rubrics impact the student experience in multiple ways: as a guide to students and assessors prior to grading; at the point of grading by the assessor; when moderating during the post-grading process; in providing an additional guide to students in the assessment planning stage; and as a feedback mechanism to students once results are released. This book explains how the rubric reflects key principles of assessment. It explores different models of rubrics used in tertiary contexts, and provides data from studen...

The Rubric: An Assessment Tool to Guide Students and Markers

2015

The changing environment for both students and lecturers dictates the requirement for giving feedback on assessment activities rapidly. In order to close this cycle of learning for the student and facilitate the feed-forward process, the development of rubrics has become an essential part of the workload. The rubric tool needs to have clearly stated performance indicators and criteria so that both student and lecturer have the same expectations of the assessment activity. The rubric must be robust enough to be able to capture the balance of being both an easy tool for marking but also detailed enough to give constructive feedback reflecting the learning outcomes. The rubric development, given its complexity, when constructing this tool, can be time consuming but eventually becomes time saving. Thereby reducing the grading workload effort of the lecturer while maintaining the knowledge gained by the students through the assessment activity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/HEAd15.2015.414