Tara's Rubric

Tara's Rubric

by Tara Vanderveer -
Number of replies: 3

Hi everyone,

I know some of you have seen this already, but it is the rubric I am using in my 1st/2nd year science for nursing writing assignments. You will notice it is a single point rubric. This is because I am tired of having to write things like does not, does somewhat, does, does well, does exceptionally. Also, I believe there is some subjectivity in what qualifies as something below or above the standard assignment requirements. The standards listed, if met, would warrant a C. We are hoping to instill in our learners that just meeting the requirements is not an A.

It is also a rubric that we are trying to develop to use as a single rubric for the entire program. The idea is that learners will get the rubric in year 1 to know what is expected for their writing throughout the course as nursing students/future nurses. We are thinking of adjusting the weight of things for each year so that it is focused mostly on mechanics in year 1 and then transitions to being mostly about critical thinking and generation of ideas by 4th year. Sort of a 1 rubric to rule them all! :)

Looking forward to hearing your feedback!



In reply to Tara Vanderveer

Re: Tara's Rubric

by Jacquie Harrison -

I think this rubric would give lots of valuable information to students about the expectations. It's a great teaching tool.

I was thinking it could be also useful for peer and/or self assessment. Students could write why the scored themselves there. For example, for the descriptor, illustrates key ideas.... They could find examples of how they did that. 

Thanks for sharing this!


In reply to Tara Vanderveer

Re: Tara's Rubric

by Leonne Beebe -

Tara,

Your rubric design emphasizes and separates the weighting of each criteria, which is based on multiples of 5, from the student evaluation, which is based on scores from 0 to 5. This makes it easy for students and instructors to convert the evaluation score to the weighted criteria percentage.

The top of your rubric with your logo,vertical evaluation describers, student /teacher information and the right column for feedback is very effective. Since this is an Excel file, will you print a paper copy for your records and your student, or will you produce an online document to record and file?  If yes, will you email the document to your student?

You have given me ideas. I didn't think about using Excel.

Out of confusion comes clarity.

Leonne

In reply to Tara Vanderveer

Re: Tara's Rubric

by Daniella Sieukaran -

Beautiful rubric, Tara! I really liked how you constructed it in Excel - brilliant!

I like how the rubric serves as a teaching tool as well as an assessment tool. It's always great to inject opportunities to educate students (or instructors) about expectations. And I particularly like how you're going to use this rubric throughout the program. For my rubric, I hope to do the same thing and I like the consistency of that, as students will gain more and more familiarity with the way they are assessed and build on their skill development each year.

My only concern is that the weighting for mechanics is so high. Really only 25% is for the subject material. I know you intentionally want to focus on mechanics in first year. However, I think some students may think that there is too heavy of an emphasis on writing skills and they may discount the importance of the subject material. Just something to ponder. :)