Hello everyone! This week has brought yet another milestone for us as we registered for student teaching and applied to graduate! It's so close, I really can't believe how fast this semester is flying.
This week, I want to talk a little bit about rubrics. As college students, rubrics are especially important to us. They tell us exactly what the professor expects of our work, and if we follow the rubric then we have a good idea of what kind of grade we will make. On the flip side, rubrics are also important to us as future educators. It allows us to communicate our expectations to our students, eliminating the excuse "well, I didn't know what to do" or "I didn't know you wanted us to do that."
This week, I overheard another teacher complaining because she assigned a project to her students a week ago and many of them did not create a project that was up to her expectations. She told her students that while they did in-fact complete the project, she expected more from them. My immediate thought was, did she give them some kind of rubric? I later found out that she did not. As teachers, we absolutely have certain expectations and standards that we want our students to live up to. However, if we don't communicate that to our students in a clear manner, then its nearly impossible for them to succeed.
I know many of you are planning to teach at the elementary level and may think that's a little to early to introduce rubrics to your students. I've included a link to a resource that may change your mind on this and give you some ideas for using rubrics in elementary school. I also really like the idea of using rubrics for classroom management. Here is a link for a rubric that describes a teacher's expectations for attitude and effort. Finally, here is one more link that can help you get started with creating rubrics. While rubrics are usually displayed in a table format, don't be afraid to get creative with your rubrics and make them more "pleasing to the eye," especially for elementary or middle school students. The most important thing to remember when creating rubrics is that they clearly communicate the expectations of the teacher.
My personal opinion is that it's never to early to introduce rubrics to your students. At the elementary level, they don't have to be elaborate or excessively detailed. They can be simple "checkbrics," or checklists. Students know if they check off everything on the list, they (probably) made a 100. As the students move up in grade level, the rubrics can get more detailed and formal. This not only helps them succeed in class and on projects/assignments, but also prepares them for high school and college later on. Clearly, rubrics are a great tool to assist teachers with facilitating learning (NCTCS 4).
Thats all I have for this week. I hope everyone has a great week next week and a happy Halloween!
Sarah, I must agree with you. If students were not supplied a rubric then how could the teacher be disappointed. Giving a rubric provides a clear expectation and provides a guideline.
ReplyDeleteIt made me so happy to finally apply for graduation.
ReplyDeleteOn the contrary, I like the idea of introducing rubrics to students. Though my little first graders may have to have the rubrics read to them, it is so important that students see the guidlines. As teachers, we can also keep track with what we are telling the students that this is what our expectations are for their assignment. As long as the rubrics are adapted to meet the age level, elementary students would benefit from rubrics.