Blended Learning - 3 Smart ways to use Google Rubrics - Ian Stonnell

A few months ago I wrote a post about the rubric function in Google Assignments and how you can create them. If you are still unfamiliar with what a rubric is you can read that post (and watch the some exemplar videos) here. 

I am pleased to say that since that post was published staff at Denbigh have gone on to create many rubrics to help assess the progress of students and give feedback. These rubrics have had the added benefit of reducing workload in the marking process. 

In this blog we will look at three effective ways that rubrics have been used across the school. If you have any other unique ways you are using rubrics please get in touch to let me know.

1) The rubric that 'soft marks'
I'll be honest, this is essentially the 'tick and flick' equivalent of marking on Google Classroom (yet slightly better as I'll explain).  At it's heart it is a simple rubric that does the equivalent of RAGing a piece of work and has been applied by many departments. Take a look at this example below that assesses 'quality of work' it is so generic it could be applied to almost any subject.

Click the image to see a Google Sheet of this rubric (CLT staff only)

The advantage of a this rubric is that it is quick to set up and generates simple numeric data that is automatically stored in the markbook for every online lesson or homework task that a student completes. The rubric also helps teachers roughly assess, or 'soft mark', work that may not necessarily have a numeric value or be a key point of assessment that requires detailed marking. This type of marking also gives teachers a general understanding of student engagement and attitudes and can keep students motivated and on their toes. The disadvantage is that the feedback this rubric generates to students is not overly helpful in supporting progress, it just lets them know how happy you are with their work.

On a side note here is a great blog in defence of 'tick and flick' by David Didau.

2) The rubric that mimics assessment criteria
These rubrics are far more complex as they attempt to reflect the assessment or marking criteria of a particular exam question or a set of KPIs for a particular subject. They may also only apply to a specific task/exam question in a subject area. Take a look at this example from English which provides a rubric for their 24 mark question in the GCSE language paper - it looks like a lot of work went into it!

Click the image to see a Google Sheet of this rubric (CLT staff only)

However, despite the initial effort that is required to create a rubric like this the reward is great. First of all, the time it takes to mark an essay is reduced to a few clicks which automatically generates a score. Secondly, the rubric creates a highly valid bank of data that smartly identifies weaknesses which can in turn help formulate valid targets for a student and also help inform future teaching. The only drawback to this kind of rubric is the danger that a student may not be able to access the language of complex mark scheme or exam criteria if the rubric reflects it too closely. As such when they receive a mark and look at a rubric it may be difficult for students to decipher what it means and therefore not benefit from it. This highlights the importance of either thinking about the language we use when we create this kind of rubric or spending lesson time to help students understand the that criteria - something that is not always necessary or useful.

3) The rubric that provides scaffolding and develops metacognition
The weakness of the previous rubric leads on to this final rubric possibility; a rubric that is designed to scaffold a task and develop metacognition. With this kind of rubric there may be a complete abandonment of any complex and convoluted language related to exam criteria and in its place a pupil friendly instructional language which guides students to succeed in a task process or skill. 

In History and RE they have been developing rubrics just like this to help students answer longer essay questions and, rather than using the examination marking criteria, they have produced instructional rubrics that provide the scaffolds for different stages of the writing process. Take this example below where the rubric follows a paragraph by paragraph approach detailing what is expected from each stage which ultimately build towards a more complete answer.

Click the image to see a Google Sheet of this rubric (CLT staff only)

The advantage of this rubric is that it helps students develop metacognition skills for a specific task (the process of writing this essay becomes ingrained the more they engage with the rubric) and although it may not neatly match up with an examination marking criteria, by students following the process they will develop consistency and competency in the task to the point that the rubric will barely be needed - as will happen in an exam. Of course personalized feedback can still be created to support progress further (as with any rubric) however, in this example it is the rubric that will underpin the skill.

A well thought out rubric can support progress and build confidence.

I hope you have found this blog useful. If you want further support developing rubrics please have a discussion with your team leader or let me know and I'll be happy to help. Thanks to all the teachers who have contributed to this blog and keep up the great work! 

Ian Stonnell @DenbighCPD

Remote Learning - How to encourage peer interaction in Google Classroom - Ian Stonnell

At Denbigh we do not do 'live' lessons in the way they are portrayed in the media. Rather we take a synchronous approach were we post resources on Google Classroom, including pre-records, set tasks and then watch the work come in to give feedback on. During this time we are available to answer questions submitted via email or through the Classroom comments section. This approach has the advantage of allowing students to get the work done at their own pace and even go asynchronous if needed.

However, the issue with this approach can be the lack of peer interaction. This is quite a concern as the EEF found that during remote learning periods, peer interactions helped to improve motivation and led to better outcomes. This probably makes a lot of sense after all for many subjects peer interaction, though debate and discussion, is often the lifeblood of a lesson that characterizes deep learning and understanding. 

The loss of peer interaction is inherently de-motivating and can limit pupil progress.

The question is how can we bring back some of this peer interaction into our current model of remote learning? In this blog we will look at a few ways that teachers have been attempting to do this using Google Classroom. If you have any other ideas please get in touch and let me know! 

1. Using the 'Announcement' feature to encourage discussion in History
In this example Sana Tariq encouraged peer interaction by using an announcement to pose an open question assessing prior knowledge about the Crusades. Students responded rapidly through the lesson hour. During this time Sana responded to comments, checked misconceptions, issued praise and asked further developmental questions which encouraged students to conduct their own research on the topic. 

In total 41 comments were made and students certainly got a good feel for other students being present in the classroom working toward the same learning goals.

2. Using the 'Question' feature to encourage debate in RE
When setting assignments Google Classroom offers a 'question' feature. It is a wonderful way to encourage general discussion and debate in an online setting.

An example of how to set up a debate question on Google Classroom.

When you set a question it creates what is essentially a message board, where students can answer the question and also reply to other student's answers. It also places the teacher as a moderator who can equally engage with discussion, adding comments, responding to comment and adding further questions and so on, as well as have the ability to delete comments and mute students if needed (this feature is available throughout the Google Classroom - just click on the 3 dots next to any comment). 

Last week the whole RE department used this approach in a year 7 debate about the nature of evil and suffering. This generated some passionate arguments and top quality work, largely due to the genuine peer interaction that was offered. 

3. Sharing documents to enable peer marking in English 
Finally, in English they have been using peer marking as a way of encouraging student interaction. Using the sharing settings on any document, a student can give access rights to one of their peers allowing them to make comments and suggestions which can be reviewed by the class teacher.

An example of peer marking in year 11 English.

Considering the benefits of encouraging peer interaction I hope you give one of these strategies a go. You could possibly do it as a review activity for the learning students have engaged in so far, I know that's what I am going to. 

Thanks to all the teachers who have contributed to this week's blog! 

Ian Stonnell @DenbighCPD