Create Rubrics for your Project-Based Learning Activities

Activation

What Do You Know??? What is a rubric? What should a rubric include? How can a rubric be helpful for the students? How are levels of performance assessed using a rubric? A rubric is "a scoring tool that lists the criteria for a piece of work or 'what counts.‘” A rubric for a multimedia project will list the things the student must have included to receive a certain score or rating. Rubrics help the student figure out how their project will be evaluated. Rubrics can help students and teachers define "quality". Rubrics can also help students judge and revise their own work before handing in their assignments. Generally rubrics specify the level of performance expected for several levels of quality. These levels of quality may be written as different ratings (e.g., Excellent, Good, Needs Improvement) or as numerical scores (e.g., 4, 3, 2, 1) which are then added up to form a total score which then is associated with a grade (e.g., A, B, C, etc).

To Log In to RubiStar Go to www.4teachers.org

To Register for RubiStar Before you begin creating a rubric you must register as a new user. You'll only need to do this once, so if you are a returning user, please skip to the Returning user log in section.

Registering as a New User Complete the form with your personal information. When you are complete, click on Register.

Let’s Get Started… Once your account is created, click on New Rubric to get started.

Demonstration

To Create a Rubric To start creating your own customized version, please click on the rubric template title that best fits your needs. The rubrics shown can be used as a guide to assist you in setting up a rubric that will best assess your students’ project. You can go into any of the headings or descriptions and modify what is there to make it your own.

Entering Rubric Information Enter your project title Select No, my rubric is permanent Warning: This page will expire in 40 minutes. If you do not click the Submit button within 40 minutes, the system will not be able to keep your data. If you feel that you require more time, please go ahead and Submit part of your data. Then you can choose to save your rubric online and you may return to this page in the editing mode to continue working on it. Selecting No, my rubric is permanent will insure that your rubric is saved online for longer than one week.

Selecting Rubric Content To customize the rating scale, click on the text box and input your changes. The rating scale for the rubric is set to automatically display a numerical rating scale (4, 3, 2, 1). If you would like to customize the rating scale just click in the text box and type as you normally would in a word processing document. **Note that the scale must go from high to low.** You can select the rubric categories. Click on the arrows next to the words -Please Choose- and hold your mouse button down in order to see the drop down menu. Keep holding down your mouse button as you move your arrow over the category you want to appear first in your rubric, and let go of your mouse button when the desired category is highlighted. To select rubric categories. Click on the arrows next to -Please Choose-.

Editing Category Content Edit text by clicking in the boxes. Highlight the words that you want to take out, hit delete, or highlight the words and type over them. To erase all changes click the Reset button. Repeat the previous step for all of the categories you wish to include in your rubric. You can put the categories in any order, but don't leave blank rows between your categories. Always start from the top. If you do not wish to use all of the categories, that is okay. If you don't choose a category it will not appear in the final rubric. You can edit the text by clicking in the boxes. It is just like editing on a word processor. Just remember that if you change the text on the Outstanding category, you probably will need to also change the text under Good, Mediocre, and Poor, too. If at any time you would like to erase all the changes you made to one box, click the Reset button as shown in the image below. This will reset all the information to its original state when you first selected it.

Finalizing the Rubric Once you have added all the categories you want in your rubric, scroll to the bottom and click the Submit button. To cancel all the changes you made to the rubric, and reload the entire rubric, click the Reload button.

Modifying the Rubric After clicking the Submit button, you will view your rubric. To make changes on your rubric, simply click the Modify This Rubric button at the top of the page. Repeat the steps mentioned in the Selecting Rubric Content and Editing Category Content pages. When you are finished be sure to click the Submit button.

Finished with Your Rubric? Click Print if you only want to create paper copies. To save to your computer or jump drive, click on Download. To save to the online database, click on Make Available Online. Choose this option if you simply wish to create paper copies of your rubric, or if you wish to save your rubric onto your computer (download). The saved rubric will be in a format that can be viewed offline. If you choose this option, we will save your rubric data in our online database. Rubrics that are saved online may be modified at a later date and will be viewable online.

Rubric Identification After saving, the rubric will be assigned a rubric ID number, like in the image below. To view or print your rubric, click on the link directly under the id number. If you do not wish to print your rubric at this point, please skip to the Choosing your next step section.

Printing the Rubric To print to one page, go to the File menu and select Print Preview. Headers and Footers Print Images Shrink Pages to Fit Once in the preview mode, make sure that your rubric fits on one page. Before going any further make sure that both the boxes in front of Headers and Footers and Print Images are checked. Next make sure the radio button in front of Shrink Pages to Fit is selected.

Rubric – Page Setup Settings Format Paper Size Orientation Scale If you would like your rubric to fit on one page, click on Page Setup at the top of the preview window. Notice in the circled area that the Orientation selection is set for Portrait. Directly under the Orientation selection is a text box marked Scale. By default the Scale will be set at 100%. To make your rubric fit on one page lower this percentage. Start with a decrease to 90%. Click OK, and look at the preview window to see if your rubric now fits. If it still doesn't, use the trial and error method of decreasing the percentage and viewing the results until you reach your goal.

Choosing Your Next Step Make another rubric Access more options in RubiStar Exit RubiStar You now have three options to choose from for your next step. First, you may choose to make another rubric. To do this, click the New Rubric button. Second, you may want to go to the teacher's home in order to access more options in RubiStar. To do this, click the Teacher Home button. Your third choose, is to exit out of RubiStar. To do this, click the Log Out button.

Exploring the Teacher Home To view your rubric, click To edit your rubric, click To analyze the rubric, click To delete the rubric, click At the Teacher Home you will see a list of all the rubrics you have created. They will appear in the same format as the image below. From this page you can view, edit, analyze, or delete your rubric. To view your rubric, you can click on the rubric id number, click on the title of the rubric, or click the View Rubric button. To edit your rubric, please click the Edit button. To analyze your rubric, please click the Analyze Rubric button. To delete your rubric, please click the Delete button.

Application

Just for Practice Create a rubric for evaluating chocolate chip cookies. Use the following criteria to judge the outcome: Number of chocolate chips Texture Color Taste Richness (flavor) Do not provide any guidance with this activity.

Here’s How it Should Look . . . Using the chocolate chip cookie activity as an introduction to the process of developing rubrics allows students to develop necessary self-evaluation skills. Another benefit is enhanced student performance because students have a better understanding of what is expected of them. Rubrics can not only be used as an assessment tool but also as an instructional tool. Students with disabilities benefit from knowing what is expected of them in terms of academic performance.

Integration

Why Should I Use a Rubric? Evaluates a student’s work from a full range of criteria. Authentic Assessment Tool Allows the students to think about how their project will be evaluated. Enhances the quality of instruction. Can be created for any content area and easily modified. Teachers can increase the quality of their direct instruction by providing focus, emphasis, and attention to particular details as a model for students. Students have explicit guidelines regarding teacher expectations. Students can use rubrics as a tool to develop their abilities. Teachers can reuse rubrics for various activities.

Rubrics for Any Project Oral Projects Products Multimedia Science Research & Writing Work Skills Math Art Music Reading

Example

One Thing to Remember Failure is NOT an Option By taking away the ability to turn in work that is below standard, you will reduce the amount that you receive. When you provide the students with the option to fail an assignment, they will feel that it is okay to turn in work that does not meet the standard.