Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Rubric Writing
In our PLC yesterday we were working on a rubric for our next essay with students. One of my collegues pointed out that students seldom look at rubrics and that graphic organizers with points might be a better way to help students understand what is expected of them. Though the other way may be more accessible, I think that rubrics are essential for grading, because then we are clearly stating what we are expecting for students. But the question I have, especially at the middle school level, is how do we help students interact in a meaningful way with rubrics. How do you get students to actually read and make changes to a project or paper based on the specifications in the rubric? I was thinking that maybe handing it out during peer revision would be helpful, but what format would be best. Can anyone share positive experiences with getting students to change based on a rubric?
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I've used rubrics to go over paper expectations--but I have the students highlight just the highest score--and tell them that this is the only column they should be looking at and aiming for. Then they have an opportunity to ask questions about the expectations. Then I revisit the rubric as they are getting into their more final drafts. Then they know their paper is not done until they have checked off what is in the rubric. Then I use the rubric to grade the essays. Then they have had plenty of opportunity to ask about the content of the rubric (used as a tool for showing expectations) and they can use it to revise. Many times I use the rubric to have the student grade themselves--an d then I grade them--and we can conference about the difference in the grades. That's another useful way to get them thinking about what they did.
ReplyDeleteI agree it can be difficult to get students to utilize the rubric. I like Ann's suggestion of revisiting the rubric often and therefore, students have lots of opportunity to ask questions/revise their papers. While I am still trying to figure out this myself, I was wondering if anyone feels rubrics can sometimes be subjective, especially when we are talking about writing. I think talking with other colleagues about their expectations can be beneficial, but I am wondering if there is a way rubrics can be more concrete, that way even when you do peer revisions, students have a very solid idea of what is expected.
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