A rubric on rubrics

For novice rubric people, like me, it can be difficult trying to explain an exceptional instructional tool like a rubric. When podcasting in education was introduced I thought a simple way to demonstrate the concept to the faculty was easy, a podcast on podcasting. People get an information and demonstration all in one viewing/listening. I wanted to simulate this type of translation with rubrics. After all, what's better than a

rubric on rubrics? (www.odu.edu/ao/ira/assessment/toolbox/rubrics%20rubric.doc)

It's not in my nature to think negatively about something, but after a while I have to begin to wonder. Most people are familiar with the phrase, "if it's too good to be true, it probably is." That is the assumption I have fallen under with rubrics. All I have read is how wonderful a rubric is and they will clear up all misconceptions in assignments. Is it possible for something to be this effective, probably not? This might be the exception to the rule though.

I really enjoyed the responses people gave on the assignment creation. The number one choice of "Why did you choose to create this assignment" seemed to be the dominat repsonse among the dicussion board. It makes sense though, if you can't answer that question, maybe you shouldn't be creating assignments to shape learning minds.

I will be conducting the week four seminar and I wanted to provide the class with an alternative view on rubrics. I found an article that talks about some of the flaws rubric might encounter. See, they aren't perfect. I am not trying to dissuade my classmates opinions, but I wanted to see some of the arguments against rubrics. I will elaborate more on this after the week four seminar reflection.

***Editors note. I just had to post that picture.

I'm no Expert, but........

I am glad the text decided to tackle this subject this week. After reading the criteria the text refers to in its equation to defining an expert, I can assure everyone that I am no expert on this matter. When I watch the news, I can't help but pay close attention when news anchors interview "supposed experts" in a particular area. Is it credible to call anyone an expert at anything? Is that particular person so correct all the time that they earn the title of expert? If you answered "yes" to the first two questions, then it's safe to say there are "experts on being an expert?"

The one thing I could easily relate to is the fact that experts must excel in their own area of comfort. For the life of me, I don't know how a person can be labeled an expert on particular subject area if they lack real life experience in that specific area. Let me give you an example.

Brad Daugherty is a former NBA all-star player. He played 10+ seasons in the NBA and then went on to become a college basketball/NBA analyst for ESPN. Now, I see him on ESPN's Nascar coverage and he is referred to as a Nascar "expert."
Every time I see him on television, I ask myself, "How is this guy a Nascar expert when he has never set foot in a car during competition? He's been on record and states his "genuine love and passion" for the sport, but does that make him an expert? I love baseball, but I don' think anyone is going to label me as an "expert" on the subject.

I wonder who was coined the first "expert."

Seminar Reflection.....

I have always been comfortable in a leadership role, but this week took a turn on its own for many reasons. The most difficult thing about being the first student to lead a seminar is setting the standard of comparison. I had a difficult time trying to determine the exact role I should play in this week’s discussion. There was one particular question about how many or which assignments a student should partake in. Although, I was the seminar leader this week, that question was for the instructor. If Pat really wanted to make this week difficult, the seminar leader could have issued critiques of other people’s work. This would have been very difficult because the seminar leader would have to teach someone else's curriculum and they would have to use their rubric for grading purposes. Perhaps this idea has some merit, well maybe not.

Questions I chose
I thought the questions I chose were appropriate for this week's readings. Our cohort has a great mix of professional diversity among it and one of the most important factors to remember is not everyone teaches. I did provide alternative questions for all of our non-instructor students. After I re-examined the questions, I do not like the third question I asked because it is too vague. Pat is always telling us not to be too vague. The fact that I asked the other students on their perception of educationally based bias is a leading question. Do I assume there is a bias in education? Yes! I am supposed to be objective and not issue my beliefs in the questions.

Student Learning Experience
I can't say that I was responsible for the students learning, the book took care if that. My job was to promote critical thinking and industry resources. I think I did a good job of that.

My learning experience
I learned a tremendous amount during this week. I learned about all of the great resources that are out there for use. I also learned about all of the work that goes into preparation for one week of class. Now that I have done one, do I have enough in me to do another nine weeks? Probably not. The most difficult thing I encountered this week was going from seminar leader in GMIT 650 back to the role of student in GMIT 660. Replacing one hat with another is not as easy as one person might think. It was difficult to let the conversation evolve. I found myself answering discussion questions differently this time. In the past, I used to comment on the postings, this time I wanted to stimulate the conversation with outside perspectives and keep it flowing. People who know me pretty well know that I am not short on opinion and conversation, so it was difficult to let the conversation progress naturally. Besides, this was not about opinion, more like critical analysis and comprehension.

Overall, I think the format works well. The formula calls for a lot of information to be provided by the seminar leader. Is it too much? Debateable. Besides, the students have to do just as much if not more once it's posted. I wasn't trying to set some type of standard formula this week. It will be interesting to see how the week 9/10 seminars come out as compared to my week 2. Everyone in this program is extremely articulate and will run with this process! Next up is week four in the rubrics book. See you then!!

In a perfect world......Academically speaking

There wouldn't be any confusion
All students would be straight "A" students.
The world of academics would not be subject to interpretation.

Unfortunately the world we live in is not perfect, wonderful maybe, but not perfect. The biggest problem I had with the rubrics chapter this week is so obvious I can't get past it. Maybe it's a little too obvious. What if the person creating the rubric does not have posses the comprehension level a more experienced rubric instructor has? Does that mean the process is flawed from the start? Maybe not, but it certainly can't help facilitate the process. I fully understand all of the characteristics the text suggests that come along with constructing a PROPER rubric. The second most glaring observance I have noticed the text has not mentioned is the proper time to construct a rubric. Many of you know I am not a "teacher" by profession, but I am under the assumption a rubric is created before an assignment is constructed. I think this is such a major factor that is being completely overlooked. Maybe it's just me??
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I thought the Adult Learning book had quite a tease this week that never was elaborated on. On page 16, the text talks about ways to reverse a decline in intelligence with age. Wow, that's great. How can I do that? I'm sure the process is long and drawn out, but can't it withstand being mentioned? Especially if it works?

The last thing I really took away from chapter two was the correct environment in which people choose to partake in learning. The example with the grocery store pricing was amazing. I guess it really proves people do learn/perform better in a less strenuous environment.

Lastly, I can't help but refer to the idea promotions and work performances could be decided by an IQ or some sort of standardized test. This has to be a joke, right? Could you imagine going for your annual performance review and all your boss does is read the results of a test you took? All of the hard work you have accomplished over the past year is being measure by a four hour test? Although, if this was the process in my Division, I can tell you there would be some people without a job. All kidding aside now, a years worth of accomplishments are just that and should never be dictated by some four hour test. Could you imagine someone cheating on a standardized test just to get a raise? Funnier things have happened.

***Editors note: my blog on seminar reflection will be posted Tuesday afternoon.

"Encourage don't Discourage"

The non-credit world is just that, a different world. It seems Continuing Education is the exception to every rule. Every time I ask why the division does something a particular way, the common response is "that is always the way we have done it." How am I supposed to respond to that? I am surrounded by a division that sidesteps emerging technology and does not embrace it. That leaves me asking one question, are we really providing the best educational opportunity for our students?

The reason I feel it is valid to ask this question is because I never see the words assessment used in any of our programs. Grant it, some of them are federally mandated, but isn't it our duty to assess the results locally? Every time I suggest new technological advancements that might be beneficial to some of our classes, I get the same responses; "Not sure we're ready for that" or "We don't have enough manpower to do these types of things." It appears to me that people are discouraging higher learning potentional rather than encouraging it.

Assessing the quality of education we offer our adult students is very difficult to put a finger on because of the lack of academic assessment we actually do. Sure, some classes change to meet the technical demands people in this community desire, but the only reason this change occurs is because of industry demands. Is that enough to qualify as assessment?

When I think about taking classes at a particular academic institution, I often think of eating at one of your favorite restaurants. The food is great until you get a job there. After a while, you see the food over and over and get to know some of the "little secrets" that go on behind the scenes. After I have sat in on hundreds of meetings regarding curriculum development, you come away a little less interested because you see how things progress and are conducted after time.

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I can sum up my initial thoughts on rubrics with one word, WOW! I believe I have shown my novice level with rubrics this week. Before we actually began to formally research this concept, I thought a rubric was something used in psychology. I thought it was a chart medical people used to determine certain levels of diagnosis.

I was even more to surprise to learn rubrics are used in elementary levels of education. Again, my initial thoughts focused strictly on higher education. If adult students have a difficult time comprehending the value of this tool, then how can pre-teen students begin to comprehend them? In case no one raised their hand on the adult rubric comprehension question, don’t worry my hand went straight into the air. I'm almost scared to attempt my first one. One thing Pat mentioned at the face-to-face really stuck out, especially if you have never created a rubric. I thought the example he used on creating a rubric on getting dressed was great. Keep it simple and try not to over think the process.

I wanted to conclude this blog with a great quote I heard from a speaker last week. “I am not here to answer your questions; I’m here to question your answers!”