my learning diary as a teacher. It started during "Introducing Project-Based Learning in your Classroom" course in European Schoolnet Academy but it goes on...
Rubrics are grading tools that can be used for summative as well as formative assessment and they are also a very useful tool to help students with self- and peer assessment. While they can be used for grading, they should in fact be seen as a learning resource that is used by students throughout their work. Rubrics lend themselves especially well for PBL because they can capture a complex range of criteria in an organized and clear way.
the Rubistar website is a great tool that can help you create a rubric for your PBL activities.
It already features a lot of pre-determined rubrics that you can adapt or translate into your own language.
A series of interesting rubrics where you can get a feel how others are approaching rubrics. You can see other participant's rubrics via this link here.
You can also find quite a number of ready-made rubrics that are relevant for PBL here. If you register on the BIE website you can download the rubrics as pdfs or Word documents so you will be able to adapt or translate them according to your own needs. On this pageyou can find some more rubric examples, mostly in Spanish but also some in English.
WHAT IS PEER ASSESSMENT?
Peer assessment is simply a matter of students giving informed feedback to one another on an assignment. Effective
peer assessment is related to clear standards and is supported by a constructive process of critique. Peer assessment
is a valuable tool because feedback from peers can be delivered with more immediacy and in greater volume than
teacher feedback. Peer assessment should happen during the learning process, on works-in-progress, and be followed by
opportunities for students to use the feedback they received to revise their work. WHAT IS NOT PEER ASSESSMENT?
Peer assessment is not a process by which peers determine grades for one another. Although some teachers have had
success with peer grading, turning peer assessment into peer evaluation is risky and may lead to negative attitudes toward
the peer assessment process. In general, peers provide feedback; teachers provide grades.
GUIDELINES FOR CREATING EFFECTIVE
PEER ASSESSMENT
1. DETERMINE THE CRITERIA ON WHICH THE ASSIGNMENT WILL BE ASSESSED
(WHAT COUNTS).
This can be done by the teacher alone, or preferably by co-constructing a checklist or rubric with students.
2. THE TEACHER GROUPS STUDENTS INTO SMALL PEER FEEDBACK GROUPS.
Two to four students can be grouped based on ability level.
3. THE TEACHER MODELS EFFECTIVE PEER FEEDBACK FOR STUDENTS.
The teacher may take an assignment and use the Ladder of Feedback protocol (see page 3) to ask clarifying questions, state
what she values about the assignment, list what concerns her about it, and ultimately make suggestions (not mandates)
that may be used to improve the assignment.2
4. STUDENTS RECEIVE A CHECKLIST OR DOCUMENT THAT REMINDS THEM HOW
TO DELIVER EFFECTIVE PEER FEEDBACK.
The Ladder of Feedback is a good choice of a checklist for students to use as a quick reference.
5. THE TEACHER CLARIFIES THE ASSIGNMENT FOR THE STUDENTS.
Clarification includes performance to be peer assessed and the timeline for that assessment.
6. THE TEACHER ACTIVELY MONITORS THE PROGRESS OF THE PEER FEEDBACK
GROUPS.
Students will need a lot of support when they are first introduced to peer assessment, and less as they become accustomed
to it.
7. THE TEACHER MONITORS THE QUALITY OF FEEDBACK.
The teacher ensures that her students are using the constructive feedback protocol (possibly the Ladder of Feedback).
8. PEER FEEDBACK IS CHECKED FOR RELIABILITY.
The teacher may compare her feedback on an assignment with a student’s feedback to check for alignment and provide
further support and instruction if needed.
9. THE TEACHER PROVIDES FEEDBACK TO STUDENTS ON THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF THEIR PEER ASSESSMENT.
10. AFTER STUDENTS HAVE GENERATED EFFECTIVE PEER FEEDBACK, IT
SHOULD BE USED TO GUIDE STUDENT REVISIONS OF WORKS-IN-PROGRESS.
The Ladder of Feedback is a good tool to help promote effective peer feedback between students. It involves four steps. It is
sometimes helpful to have one group member “police” the ladder to make sure the rungs are climbed in order.
After a student shares a work-in-progress with peers, his peers will:
1. Ask clarifying questions they have about the work. Some ideas may seem unclear, or information may be missing. This
step helps peers gather relevant information before they give feedback.
2. State what they value, or comment on the strengths of the work. Expressing appreciation for ideas is fundamental
to the process of constructive feedback. Stressing the positive points of the work sets a supportive tone during the
feedback session, and helps people to identify strengths in their work they might not have recognized otherwise.
3. Raise any concerns they may have about the work. During this step, honest thoughts and concerns are raised in a
constructive, non-threatening way. “What I wonder about is . . .” and “Have you considered . . .” are examples of how
concerns may be framed.
4. Make suggestions about how the work could be improved. Give suggestions, based on problems identified in the
concerns step, that can help the student use the feedback to revise his work and make improvements. There is no
guarantee the learner will use the suggestions, nor need there be a guarantee. Suggestions are just that—suggestions,
not mandates.
Assessment should be about "sitting beside someone", providing feedback and helping them to improve. Assessment should not only be about giving a grade at the end but it should be an on-going process, where teachers and students alike assess their learning as they work on the projects. Assessment as part of PBL should not only come at the end but should be seen as a learning activity that is embedded throughout the PBL process. It should become a standard feature of any scaffolding activities you might plan for your PBL implementation. Such type of assessment is known as formative assessment.
