Rubric Transformation with Gemini

Rubrics have traditionally been “teacher-facing” documents, often used to summatively assess student work. They are often quite wordy and even when shared with the ākonga that we most want to accelerate, ākonga often side-step the high expectations that are embedded within them.

Here’s an example of a rubric for a Year 8 Science project.

This workflow typifies the many situations I have observed over the years in which the kaiako is working harder than the ākonga!

Here are just some of the problems with this model of rubric:

• Ākonga are not all invested in the rubric.

• Ākonga may find it difficult to read and retain the high expectations of the rubric.

• All criteria seem to be equally weighted as there are no numerical scores.

• The complexity of the rubric increases the workload of the kaiako, meaning that summative assessment, which happens only once, takes priority over formative assessment, which should happen multiple times.

• Over-reliance on “Post Mortem” (ie Summative) assessment and feedback is not motivating for ākonga.

• At worst, ākonga become conditioned into ignoring rubrics as they are not as accessible or motivating as they could be.

The good news!

The good news is that Google has thought very carefully about this. Using the Rubric Generator tool within Google Classroom, a traditional rubric can be rapidly transformed into a student-friendly tool that motivates students to act on formative feedback to do their very best. This 4-minute video explains in detail how to achieve this transformation.

In my experience, the effective use of student-friendly rubrics, within Google Classroom, achieves the following goals:

• Enhanced student buy-in and outcomes

• Development and celebration of a “Learning to Learn” culture within the classroom

• Development and assessment of all Key Competencies

• A reduction in Teacher workload (assessment)

• A reduction in Teacher stress load (endlessly repeating and revisiting the expectations of the task)