Hey Class!

I have always appreciated the use of rubrics in my classes. They are handed out before the assignement as well as reviewed in detail, which allows for us as students to understnad what is expected of us and what quaillity of work will earn us our desired grades. As aspiring techers it makes a clear undersntading to the students how assginemtns will be graded and eases the grading process for us all. Therefore, we are all aware of what is to be done and what is expected, this keeps all students on task. What I liked the most is the idea of students creating their own rubrics or contributing to existing teacher rubrics, this way they are involved in their assessment process. Ultimately, allowing students to create their own rubrics empowers them and encourages them to take charge of their education. Rubrics are objective and very clear cut. I believe that rubrics improve students' end products because they have a checklist in front of them to complete, they know what they need to do. There have been so many classes where I thought I turned in a great end product but I received a low grade. This is because the teacher was looking for different things than I expected. Rubrics eliminate this frustration. I feel that rubrics allow students to better understand their work and to judge the quality of it. It is always consistent and really works hard to eliminate bias by teachers. For teachers it reduces the amount of time we must spend grading becuase we have specific things to look for. When I teach I will be using rubrics in my classroom.

Thanks,
Brooke Gerrard