Rubric Enhancements

Streamlining Rubric Building for More Effective Feedback and Grading

What is it?

Enhanced Rubrics are an upgraded feature designed to improve the assessment process for both instructors and students. This tool allows educators to create, manage, and utilize rubrics more efficiently within the Canvas environment. Key functionalities include the ability to enable student self-assessments, manage rubrics directly from the assignment details page, and import/export rubric assessments in bulk. These enhancements aim to streamline grading, provide clearer feedback, and facilitate a more interactive learning experience. With features like CSV import/export and the sharing of rubrics across courses, Enhanced Rubrics empower educators to maintain consistency and adaptability in their assessment methods.

Why is it important?

Instructional Design Perspective

Creating rubrics for assignments is essential because they provide clear expectations and criteria for student performance. Rubrics serve as a guide that helps students understand what is required for success, fostering transparency in the grading process. By outlining specific criteria and performance levels, rubrics not only enhance student learning by encouraging self-assessment and reflection but also streamline the grading process for instructors, making it more objective and consistent. This clarity ultimately supports better educational outcomes, as students are more likely to meet learning objectives when they know exactly what is expected of them.

Course Design Perspective

Attaching a rubric to assignments using Learning Management System (LMS) features is crucial for enhancing the grading experience. When rubrics are embedded within the LMS, instructors can seamlessly integrate assessment criteria into the assignment process, allowing for real-time feedback and easier access for both students and faculty. This integration promotes efficient grading practices, as instructors can quickly evaluate submissions against predefined criteria. Additionally, students benefit from immediate visibility into how their work will be assessed, which encourages engagement and aligns their efforts with course objectives. By utilizing LMS features, instructors can ensure that the rubric is not only a static document but an interactive element that enriches the overall learning experience.

Accessibility

Creating rubrics for assignments is vital as it ensures that all students, including those with disabilities, have clear and equitable access to assessment criteria. Rubrics provide structured and straightforward guidelines that help demystify expectations, allowing students to understand how their work will be evaluated. This clarity is particularly important for students who may face challenges with processing information or who benefit from explicit instructions. By offering a consistent framework for evaluation, rubrics promote inclusivity and enable instructors to accommodate diverse learning needs, ultimately fostering a more supportive and effective learning environment for all students.

How do I do it?

If you cannot find a rubric you want to use in your course, you can create a new rubric. Once you create a rubric, the rubric is saved in your course for future use. You can add the rubric to an assignment and use the rubric for grading and adding comments. You can manage created rubrics in the Rubrics page. This lesson shows how to create a rubric in the Rubrics page. You can also create a rubric directly when adding a rubric to an assignment, and the process is the same. Rubric criteria can include a point range or an individual point value.

Notes:

Open Rubrics

Select Rubrics from navigation menu.

In Course Navigation, select Rubricslink.

Create New Rubric

Select Create New Rubric button.

Select Create New Rubricbutton.

Add Title

Write title in dialog box titled Rubric Name.

Enter a name in the Rubric Name field. This name identifies the rubric so it can be easily associated with an assignment, graded discussion, or quiz.

Select Rating Order

Choose whether to go from high to low or low to high.

In the Rating Order drop-down menu, you can select either the rating order to be High to Low or Low to High.

Draft New Criterion

Select the Draft New Criterion button.

The rubric includes one default criterion entry. To draft a new criterion, select Draft New Criterionbutton [1].

You can also create the criterion from an outcome [2].

Enter Descriptions

There are several fields to complete for different types of descriptions.

  • Enter a name for the criterion in the Criterion Name field [1].
  • To add a longer description to the criterion, enter a description in the Criterion Description field [2]. The longer description provides students with more information about the criterion.
  • To enable a point range, click the Enable Range checkbox [3].
  • You can update the default Points [4], Rating Name [5], and Rating Description [6].
  • Select Save Criterion button [7].

Edit Total Point Value

Use toggle or write in point value for each description.

Rubric ratings default to 4 points, awarding 4 points for full rubric marks and 0 points for no rubric marks. If you want to adjust the total point value of the criterion, enter the number of points in the Points field [1] or use the up or down arrows to change the total point value [2].

Select Range

Checking box to Enable Range provides more accurate grading options.

By default, rubric ratings are created as individual point values. If you want to create a point range instead, select Enable Range checkbox [1]. Ranges allow you to assign a rating for a range of point options instead of just one point value. When ranges are enabled, the first rating (full marks) shows the total point value in a range format [2]. Each rating displays a maximum and minimum point value. For each rating, the maximum value is assigned as the point value. Except for the range value display, criterion ranges function the same way as individual point ratings. For instance, a range that includes a maximum of five points and a minimum of three points is assigned the full point value of five points.

Add Ratings

Select the Add Ratings icon, a white plus in a blue circle.

To add a new rating for the criterion, hover your mouse between the current ratings and select Add Rating icon.

Update Rating

USe toggle or write in points to update rating.

  • By default, the new rating points field displays the point value between the two existing ranges [1]. To change the point value for the rating score, enter the new point value in the Rating Score field. Points can be whole (1, 5, 10) or decimal (0.3, 0.5, 2.75) numbers.
  • Enter a name for the rating in the Rating Name field [2].
  • Enter a description for the rating in the Rating Description field [3].

Update Range Rating

Selecting the Enable Range checkbox, you will also need to update range rating.

When ranges are enabled [1], the Point Range field displays the point value between the two existing ranges [2]. To change the point value for the rating score, enter the new point value in the Point Range fields.

Reorder Ratings

You can drag and drop the ratings elements to the prefered order.

  • You can use the drag and drop option to reorder rubric ratings. Select Moveicon [1]. Drag and drop the rubric rating into the desired location.
  • To delete a criterion, select Delete icon [2].
  • Select Save Criterion button [3].

Add Criterion

You can create new criterion or create from an uploaded outcome.

Note: Outcomes cannot be edited directly in a rubric.

Save Rubric

Select Preview Rubric button to review, and Save Rubric button to keep.

  • To preview the rubric, select Preview Rubric link [1].
  • To save and publish the rubric, select Save Rubric button [2].

View Rubric

Select rubric link in list to view.

View the rubric on the Rubrics page.

Manage Rubric

Selecting the snowwoman on the far of link will give you options to manage rubric.

  • To manage a rubric, select Options link [1].
  • To edit a rubric, select Edit link [2].
  • To duplicate a rubric, select Duplicate link [3].
  • To copy a rubric to a different course, select Copy To link [4].
  • To archive a rubric, click select Archive link [5].
  • To delete a rubric, select Delete link [6].
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