I’ve recently designed a rubric for blogging that I shared in this previous post. I’ve been using this in my classroom over the past weeks and have found that the specific criteria and descriptions listed on the rubric have been effective at helping students to improve the posts they have been writing.
With this in mind, I’ve been working on another assessment to help students think about the connections and global understandings they are establishing. I’ve developed a rubric and a checklist to use in a classroom with middle school students. While I’ve not yet used this in a classroom, I will not use it to assign a grade to these activities, but instead to be a conversation starter with students. It could possibly be used in a small group setting or as a self assessment tool. I can also see sitting with students several times over the course of a school year (possibly once every two months?) and having a conversation with them about connections and global issues. Giving students the rubric and checklist will help them to work towards developing more effective connections around the world for learning.
As usual, please leave any thoughts or comments behind. Any and all suggestions welcome. The Google docs version is here.
| 1
Beginner |
2
Capable |
3
Accomplished |
4
Expert |
|
| Commenting | - never comments on own or others work
- few comments approved in own space |
- rarely comments on own or others work
- comments in own space approved late |
- regularly comments on own and others work
- comments are approved in a timely manner |
- often comments on the work of others-
comments in own spaces to build community - comments ask questions and drive forward thinking |
|
Developing a Global Understanding |
- accesses information only from North America
- no understanding of global events and issues - never creates own content about global issues |
- accesses information from at least two continents regularly
- little understanding of global events and issues - rarely creates own content about global issues |
- accesses information from at least three continents regularly
- some understanding of global events and issues - sometimes creates own content about global issues |
- accesses information from at least three continents regularly
- shows clear understanding of current global events and issues - regularly creates own content about global issues |
|
Connecting and Networking |
- displays rude behaviour online
- gives out personal information online - only has teacher provided RSS feeds - no thought given to creating or sustaining a network |
- usually uses proper netiquette
- usually connects with others safely - regularly reviews self chosen RSS feeds - network changes only with support |
- uses proper netiquette
- connects with others safely - regularly reviews self chosen RSS feeds - network sometimes changes, growing or shrinking slowly |
- supportive of others online
- connects with others safely - regularly reviews RSS feeds subscribed to - deletes and adds feeds as needed - network is flexible, changing to meet needs |
Do you….
_____ regularly read and approve comments in your own spaces?
_____ regularly read and comment on the work of others?
_____ know what kinds of things have been written lately by people in your online community?
_____ read blogs when needed?
_____ listen to podcasts when needed?
_____ watch videos when needed?
_____ regularly review your RSS feeds, deciding which are useful and which are not?
_____ regularly look for new sources of information when you have something new to learn?
_____ talk to people from several continents?
_____ produce information of your own in more than one form?
_____ write comments that ask questions?
_____ know how to use a service to translate web sites in other languages?
_____ have news sources from other countries in your RSS reader?
_____ create content about issues that are taking part in other countries?
_____ create content about ideas that you learned about from reading / watching the work of others?
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Clarence,
As always, you are paving the way. I love the Global Understanding section as well as the checklist. Thank you so much for sharing. I look forward to hearing how it goes.
Wendy
Great stuff Clarence,
I love it and just thinking out loud (about thinking)… perhaps after doing this a second time students could either reflect on changes and/or share with you or peers how their habits or community has changed over time. The other thing is to ask them if there is anything they do connect and learn online that is not expressed in this assessment.
This kind of expectation: ‘comments ask questions and drive forward thinking’ really works to show what kind of commenting is valued. Excellent!
Thanks David and Wendy for stopping by and leaving your thoughts behind. Doing this multiple times with kids in a classroom as I had envisioned I would completely imagine taking your suggestion and asking kids to reflect on how their networks and connections are changing. This is the great thing about using a rubric multiple times (as I do the blogging rubric that I use in my classroom) when you keep them, you can look back at how your thinking is changing and hopefully improving.
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Never really took into consideration the whole global thing–need to work to actually find things from other continents (except my niece’s blog from Australia). Thanks for the reminder…..
Thanks so much for sharing. This really gets at the responsibility students have with their commenting in terms of helping to move others forward with their writing, AND, with being appropriate. This rubric will definitely promote valuable conversation with students.