Rubric as a Form of Communication?

Any seasoned instructor will agree that learning objectives must be stated so that the learner knows what they will accomplish by the end of a particular rubric. This is just good practice, and generally accepted as a global best practice.

Just as objectives keep learners on track, they keep me, as an instructional designer on track. They are the road map that direct all who are involved. So, I often wonder why objectives often disappear once students dive in to the nitty gritty of each learning unit. The assignments that instructors ask their students to complete always have instructions, but often there is no way for the student to know how a particular assignment will be evaluated. Grading rubrics are important to the evaluation process, but for some reason, the grading criteria is not always made available or at least clear to the student. Communicating this type of information must be done. It has never been more important than in today's online classroom environment.

A rubric does two things at once. It allows the student to see exactly how they will be evaluated. Secondly, it makes the instructor's job of evaluating an assignment much less subjective. When an instructor takes the time to cement the evaluation criteria in the form of a rubric, they save themselves time down the road. With their trusty matrix of criteria, instructors can accomplish the task of grading more quickly and with an impartial eye.

There are any number of resources on creating a rubric. A Google search alone will garner you far more options than you knew existed. Weeding through all the advice and examples can be a daunting task. The thing to remember is that the rubric has to make sense to you, and your content.

A rubric is another tool that is so helpful to you as an instructor, while at the same time they provide support and direction to students. Another two-way tool that helps you and your students.