Thursday, April 26, 2007

Rubric for Online Instruction Chico State

This morning, I stumbled across this Rubric for Online Instruction from Chico State University.

For those of us not from academic backgrounds, rubric might be a new term. I first heard of them when my husband was applying for k-12 teaching positions. At the time, it just seemed like a way to take all of the joy out of teaching. I was personally introduced to rubrics last semester in a faculty meeting at the school where I have been teaching.

A rubric is a statement describing the quality of the learning outcome, or rather a way to evaluate the effectives of the teaching experience and the student's comprehension or mastery. For example, if you are teaching an anatomy lesson, the assessment rubric for the student at the end of the lesson might be 1) Excellent: the student can palpate the named structures without assistance; 2) Good: the student can palpate the named structures while referring to the textbook; 3) Basic: the student can palpate the structure with guidance from the instructor.

Hadn't thought about applying rubrics to e-Learning programs (mostly because my entire body bristles at the thought of such structure!) -- but I do see the value. The Chico State rubric provides a way to assess the quality of the program; essentially a checklist to evaluate your program.

Does anyone have any experience with rubrics?

2 comments:

Dan said...

Interesting idea - one I could see a lot of value in if I was purchasing/commissioning elearning. Certainly offering a continuum is of more value than bald statements against which one can attempt to measure.

Cammy Bean said...

I think the greatest value -- at least for me -- is that a rubric offers a very concrete and objective way to evaluate a project. You just go down the checklist of criteria that you've established up front. You could link the rubric to project costs. Basic = $; Exemplary = $$$. If you share this during the planning stages, you may find that your client only wants a "basic" product and not an "exemplary" one.