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Why should it disturb you that kids can think on their own?
Actually, a kid who is told "write a report on helium and writes a report on the commercial properties of helium is thinking on their own. They just aren't thinking the way you want them to think. And this is the crux of the problem. They have to guess at what the teacher wants.
When I was in my assessment class (where we learned how to write tests, rubrics,etc....) the professor told us to avoid giving assignments or test questions that were vague and open ended, UNLESS THAT WAS WHAT WE WANTED. Sometimes vague and open ended is what you want but then you have to be prepared to grade them in some consistent manner.
He used the following example of a test question where it is just overly vague:
Abraham Lincoln was born in ____________.
What does the teacher want?
Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky.
Abraham Lincoln was born in February.
Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809.
Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin.
Which of these is correct? Teachers need to be specific in what they want. They need to be specific because kids CAN think on their own, but they do not all think the same way. If the teacher is looking for what year Lincoln was born then that's what she needs to ask.
An open ended assignment on an element, a person, a piece of literature, etc. needs to be better defined than just "write a report". That definition does not need to be a rubric that is so detailed that it becomes a checklist. It can be a paragraph detailing the larger items that students should cover. But the instruction "write a report" leaves a student guessing what the actual assignment is.
If students are to be given an evaluation of their work it is only fair to them that they are given some guidance beyond "write something".
Now-when IT is talking about lab reports those are usually pretty standard across a school year and should not require so much detail. I asked my kids what they get for lab reports and they told me that they get a sheet at the beginning of the school year detailing what each lab report should include as far as sections go but they do not get a detailed rubric for each individual lab. The school science department uses the same format for all lab reports in all science classes for grades 7-12 so students who stay in this school for all 6 years of upper school are pretty used to lab reports by the time they take Chemistry (soph or jr year) which is the most lab heavy of the lab sciences.
I also asked about speech (2nd Q English) which is also done in all 7-11 grade English classes, except AP. There is a school wide speech guide. It details the topics they can choose (there are about 10 each year), how long the speech has to be (range), how many sources they have to have, the format of the supportive essay they have to include with their speech, and a blurb explaining how to support their argument. It is not a step by step guide. Teachers do cover speech in class but the bulk of the work on the speeches happens outside the classroom.
Kids need a guide. If you tell kids give a speech on a topic they don't know what that means. They're kids. Part of the art of teaching is giving them enough guidance so that they can complete an assignment, without giving them so much information that they do not have to think on their own.
I am not a fan of rubrics that are overly specific. However, I am similarly, not a fan of telling kids NOTHING.
Well, I don't tell them what questions to answer either...that is the research, for goodness sakes. The rubric just tells them OVERALL what I am looking for, not the things they should discover/write about themselves. I just want a kid to know what I am holding him/her responsible for as it does differ between teachers.
But back to you, how do you tell them to cite? Do they have a works cited page? To me that is what they need to know and to know they are going to graded on that as well.
The problem is, if I then take points off because the student did not discuss things I felt they should have if they'd done the research, I get accused of not having told them what to include.
The, problem, as I see it, is we've taken what should be a grading tool for the teacher and handed to the student and the student expects it to be a roadmap to an A. Any discussion of ionic and covalent compounds would be incomplete without clearly defining the bond types, comparing and discussing the physical properties fo the types of compounds and explaining why those properties differ. If I give that set of instructions, I have parents who will argue that because their child discussed one physical property, they deserve an A. If I tell you which ones you are to discuss, I might as well write the paper for you because what you're writing is my work not yours.
There are well-designed rubrics and poorly-designed rubrics. So before relegating rubrics to the scrapheap along with technology, it might be worthwhile to learn about how to create an effective one.
I did a "rubric" for a graduate class for a skill I was teaching students. Then, I started using it to explain skills to parents in IEP meetings. Sure made me sound fancy and smart...shucks.
There are well-designed rubrics and poorly-designed rubrics. So before relegating rubrics to the scrapheap along with technology, it might be worthwhile to learn about how to create an effective one.
Try reading my posts. I've been very specific in the issues I have with parents and students using rubrics. It's not an issue of rubrics not bieng written well. It's that they're being used for something they were never intended for. They were intended to keep teachers consistent in grading. If you know, exactly what I'm grading, I might as well do your work for you since all you have to do is follow my instructions to the T.
I've also been very specific with the issues I see with technology. Techology has not helped our students to excel. It's made them lazy. So have rubrics.
I prefer to give assignments that let the cream rise to the top on it's own.
So the way you create and present the rubric that you give to the kids has no impact on whether they use it as a tool or a crutch? All rubrics inherently make kids lazy?
Any discussion of ionic and covalent compounds would be incomplete without clearly defining the bond types, comparing and discussing the physical properties fo the types of compounds and explaining why those properties differ.
Perhaps you could write one super detailed rubric to help you grade, and one that is less detailed for the students. Is that possible?
You mentioned points for name, title, format. Is it possible to have a lab report guide where you give them a required format and tell them it is worth X number of points? You can also tell them that the format section is an "all or nothing" deal. If it is in the right format you get all the points for that section. No partial credit for format. That might free up more points for the actual content.
Really, the best part of a rubric is to explain to parents why "junior" did not get an "A" on his handwritten, one paragraph essay on "Abraham Lincoln". That is the real value of a rubric. It is not for the kids, it is to show your administrator how smart, and on top of things you are, and to justify grades to parents...sure, kids will look at it, and not have a clue what you are talking about.
Really, the best part of a rubric is to explain to parents why "junior" did not get an "A" on his handwritten, one paragraph essay on "Abraham Lincoln". That is the real value of a rubric. It is not for the kids, it is to show your administrator how smart, and on top of things you are, and to justify grades to parents...sure, kids will look at it, and not have a clue what you are talking about.
Unfortunately, we have parents who see them as roadmaps to A's. They want their kids given a step by step instruction set that once they've checked off all of the steps, they get an A.
I agree that they work well for explaining why a student didn't get an A if they didn't follow the rubric but getting an A should be about more than following a rubric.
Perhaps you could write one super detailed rubric to help you grade, and one that is less detailed for the students. Is that possible?
You mentioned points for name, title, format. Is it possible to have a lab report guide where you give them a required format and tell them it is worth X number of points? You can also tell them that the format section is an "all or nothing" deal. If it is in the right format you get all the points for that section. No partial credit for format. That might free up more points for the actual content.
That works for things like format (which I can't believe I have to even give points for at this level), not so well for research sections. There are, often, certain things that should be discovered IF you did the research. If I don't spell those out, parents cry foul.
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