|
Rubrics
By Dr. Kathie F Nunley
Advice to teachers: You cannot be too clear when
it comes to expectations. Make sure your students (and their parents)
are very clear on what your expectations are for every assignment. One
of the biggest sources of frustration and fuel for argument is grade
confusion. Students need to know, going in, what your expectations are.
You as a teacher also need to know what your expectations are.
We've all been in that position where we give an
assignment only to be grossly disappointed with the product turned in.
We may say to ourselves, "I don't know exactly what I wanted, but I do
know this is not it" Never put yourself or your students in that
position. Before you give an assignment, ask yourself, "what do I
expect to see?"
For example, I may offer an assignment for
students to make a poster on the evolution of the plant kingdom and
make that assignment worth 20 points. Does that mean that every poster
turned in will be worth 20 points? Of course not. So, what does a 20
point poster look like? What does a 15 point poster look like? A 10
point poster? At what point would the child get no credit? Write down
your answers. Try to be very specific. Avoid terms like "good" or
"creative". These are terms interpreted differently by everyone.
Creative may mean an original work not copied out of the textbook or
using ideas from more than one source. Good may mean that it shows 7
different transitions or is in full color or makes good use of white
space or took a great deal of time to design.
Write down your criteria. Share it with the
students ahead of time. I make criteria or "rubrics" for all the
different types of assignments I offer. I post those rubrics on the
wall around the room, color coded based on the assignment type.
Students want to do well. Tell them what you want
and give them a fair chance to do it. If they fall short, you have a
much easier time defending your grade to both them and their parent.
Kathie F. Nunley is an
educational psychologist, author, researcher and speaker living in
southern New Hampshire. Developer of the Layered Curriculumâ„¢ method of
instruction, Dr. Nunley has authored several books and articles on
teaching in mixed-ability classrooms and other problems facing today's
teachers. Full references and
additional teaching and parental tips are available at:
http://Help4Teachers.com Email her:
Kathie (at)
brains.org
|