Ideas for Rubrics in STEM Higher Education

Teaching & Learning

Jace Hargis, PhD

AgendaBuilding Rubrics

IP

Assess

Bloom

BWDesign -SLO -Evidence -Instruct

Rubric Examples

Following this session, the participant will

• Integrate Information Processing as a foundational aspect of teaching, learning and assessment, indicated by the frequency of formative assessments;

• Create Rubrics addressing authentic assessment, measured by the ‘Evidence’ step of Backward Design.

Information Processing(Atkinson and Shiffrin,1971)

Input Sensory STM LTM

Recall

“Rubrics”

• Assessment: Vehicle for gathering information about learners’ behavior.

• Measurement: Assignment of marks based on an explicit set of criteria.

• Evaluation: Process of making judgments about the level of understanding.

Assessment of Understanding

You really understand when you can…1. explain, connect, systematize, predict;2. show its meaning, importance;3. apply or adapt it to novel situations;4. question its assumptions;5. see it as its author saw it; and6. identify misconceptions or simplistic views

What is Formative Assessment?

• Part of instructional process• Provides information at a point when

adjustments to teaching can be made.• Self-reflective process - bidirectional.

Blooms Taxonomy for Assessment

Knowledge (facts): Who, What, Why, When, Where

Comprehension (interpret): Example, Classify, Infer

Application (new situations): Predict, Select, Identify

Analysis (break into parts): Distinguish, Conclusions

Synthesis (patterns): Create, Propose, Plan, Design

Evaluation (criteria): Appraise, Criticize, Defend

Course [re]Design: Understanding by Backward Design

Wiggins & McTighe (1998)

1. Identify desired results

2. Determine acceptable evidence

3. Plan learning experiences & instruction

Student Learning Outcome (SLO)• Knowledge, Skills & Dispositions

– active, high level– specifically under certain conditions;– to what degree they will be measured.

– Substance (subject);

– Form (action the learner performs)[analyze, demonstrate, derive, integrate, interpret, propose]

1. Identify Desired Results

• Authentic• Aligned to Outcomes• Experiential• Measureable

2. Determine Acceptable Evidence

Using Rubrics …

Students

SLOs

Assessment

Bloom’sTaxonomy

Course-specificgoals & objectives

Cooperative learning

Lectures Labs Other experiences

Classroomassessmenttechniques

Projects

Instruction

Other measures

Technology

(Felder & Brent, 1999)

3. Plan learning experiences & instruction

Measuring Assessment Using a Rubric

• Oxford Dictionary – mid 15th century, rubric referred to headings of sections of a book, stemmed from monks who reproduced literature, initiating each section of a copied book with a large red letter. The Latin word for red is ruber, rubric came to signify the headings for divisions of a book.

What are Measurement Rubrics

• Bridge between SLOs and assessment;• Students and teachers use;• Defines criteria, especially in dealing with

processes or abstract concepts;• Common language to assess complex process.• 3 Features – evaluative criteria; quality

definitions; scoring strategy

Example Rubric -

Engineering Lab Reports

Critical Thinking Rubric

Rubric Resources

• Rubistar Online Rubric Tool(http://rubistar.4teachers.org)

• Assoc. for Assess of Learning in Hi Ed(http://course1.winona.edu/shatfield/air/rubrics.htm)

• Rubrix ($50) - http://rubrix.com

• UCF Faculty Center Rubric Pagewww.fctl.ucf.edu/TeachingAndLearningResources/CourseDesign/Assessment/AssessmentToolsResources/rubrics.php

How Do You Know When A Rubric is Good?

• Reliable (r, between -1 and 1)• consistency which the measurement provides;• how well a test agrees with itself;• is it measuring same thing with similar results.

• Valid– does it measure what it is intended to measure;– differences represent true differences in what is

being measured and not from other factor!

Thank You!

Jace Hargis, PhD