Monday, April 13, 2009
Rethinking Writing Rubrics
Maja Wilson, author of Rethinking Rubrics in Writing Assessment speaks about how uniform rubrics can be. As we talked about in class, rubrics can often hinder learning and leave the students with a unclear assessment of their work. Wilson speaks of how Diederich sought for one way to assess student writing, and how this is now used to conform student writing. Wilson believes that rubrics are a tool that keeps the supposed "bad" students out of colleges, do you agree with this idea? She also states that an original and good piece of writing can upset a rubric, what do you think should be done to ensure that this doesn't happen? Do you think that teachers can use rubrics in tandem with their own commentary? I believe that although Wilson does not like rubrics, they can e used effectively in the classroom. Rubrics can be used as a guide for students on teacher expectations, but Wilson does not give the impression this happens. Do you think that future teachers should be educated in both the successes and failures of rubrics?
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I agree that rubrics can be used as a great tool in the classroom. Like we discussed in class I think it is important to explain to the students that rubrics are not a grade they are only used as a tool to evaluate the level they are currently at. In order to effectively use rubrics I think it is important to user the six-point system. This way all teacehrs will be assessing writing at the same level.
ReplyDeleteI believe that if a rubric is well constructed, then it will not be upset by an original and interesting essay. The rubric needs to be one like the 6 point scale suggested by Spandel. It does not seem like this scale would have trouble scoring an original and interesting essay because that is what the scale is looking for. I definitely believe teachers can use rubrics in tandem with commentary. I think that future teachers should be educated in the successes and failures of rubrics. They must also discuss the reasons why certain rubrics are successful while others are not. As with everything and every subject, students should be presented with multiple perspectives and allowed to form educated opinions based on those perspectives.
ReplyDeleteWriting rubrics are a very difficult subject because all of the writing will be judged on it. Like Jenn said, if the rubric is complete and well constructed, then a rubric can serve as a helpful tool. We must emphasize as teachers that we are not strictly grading by the rubric. We must incorporate the rubric with comments, corrections, an suggestions for improvement. This 6 point rubric is very intersting because it brings all the elements of writing together. It will be also good to know that all teachers are using the same guidelines in teaching writing to their students.
ReplyDeleteAs we can all see from class discussion, rubrics are hard to use because we dont want them to limit a child's creativity during the writing process. I think that they can be helpful, however, as a way of establishing guidelines for the student writers. I think that rubrics can serve as a way for teachers to set a standard of writing, however I think that it is only appropriate to use if all the students have master the items on the rubrics first.
ReplyDeleteI agree on both counts that rubrics can hinder student writing and also overlook an original piece of writing as well. Though rubrics serve as a great guide to keep assessment consistent, it's important to know when to appropriately stick to the rubric and when to use our own thoughts as teachers.
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