Let the Rubric Be Your Guide

The Rubric
A good rubric will guide students through their learning process.
A good student will use the rubric to guide their thinking and learning.

As we near the end of our first ALU this year,
I must reflect on the use of my rubric over these last few weeks.
We first used it to make our plan of learning.
We then referred to it often.
We also rephrased it...often.
And we have written it out in checklist form.
I have even heard students comment on how they checked the rubric to see what else they needed!

I really do think that the rubric helped to move our thinking!

However...

The multi-steps (even though I divided the rubric into easy to read sections)
Might have confused students.
Despite my attempts to break it up,
and put it in everyday language,
Students were still confused as to what needed to be done.

Why?

What can I Improve On?
Does it go back to metacognition?
Do I need to rewrite it in easier to understand terms?
Maybe even make it bulleted instead of in sentences?

Interesting Observations
It was interesting how the students wanted to jump to making the presentation first thing.
Before even engaging in the learning process, some students were already creating a Keynote.
When asked what they were going to present on, they had no idea.
It almost seemed like they just wanted to check an item off the list,
With no understanding of what should be done to get it right.

Some students did their own thing.
Basically adding things to do their to do list that had to bearing on what the rubric was guiding them to do.
For example, a student turned in a three page report on the facts of each "Kansas Wonder".
No where in the rubric did it state to do that.
Why did they take the time to write out 3 pages when they had a plan of everything they NEEDED to do?

Successes
I was impressed with how the expert column motivated some students.
Some groups ended up solving TWO problems and making TWO presentations!
Wow!
Talk about moving their thinking!!!!
One group finished with the requirements of the rubric and chose to go their own direction...
Finding the volumes of a cone, sphere, and cylinder at Disneyland.
(Which, by the way, they were able to find a larger than life item of each!)
Wow!