Introduction to Rubrics Chapter Three, Stage 3

Stage 3: Grouping and Labeling. 

In this stage, the highest expectations are grouped together into similar categories and labeled to create dimensions.  

Here are some ways that I could group my highest expectations of the poem one assignment: 

Grouping #1

Poetic Elements

•  Includes the required poetry elements of the assignment (four of the following elements:  an end-stopped line, a run-on line, an enjambed line, an original metaphor, an original simile.)
• Ideas/themes in the poem are enhanced by the poetic techniques
• Poem has a meaningful title,

Formatting

• Paper has correct heading and formatting,
• Poem is submitted in the dropbox correctly

  Word use and Style  

• Word choices in the poem are original, precise, and thoughtful,
• Poem shows the author’s style and point of view clearly and in an original manner

  Professionalism

• Poem uses grammar and punctuation purposely (if rules of standard written English are not followed, there should be clear poetic reasons),

Grouping #2 

Use of Poetic Elements

• Includes the required poetry elements of the assignment (four of the following elements:  an end-stopped line, a run-on line, an enjambed line, an original metaphor, an original simile.)

• Ideas/themes in the poem are enhanced by the poetic techniques

Professionalism

• Paper has correct heading and formatting,
• Poem is submitted in the dropbox correctly
• Poem uses grammar and punctuation purposely (if rules of standard written English are not followed, there should be clear poetic reasons),

Originality

• Word choices in the poem are original, precise, and thoughtful,
• Poem shows the author’s style and point of view clearly and in an original manner

• Poem has a meaningful title,

Actually, as I started to group these elements, I saw how much they overlap. For instance, standard English usage is about professionalism, but it’s also about using poetic elements and begin original at times. Capitalization can be used to enhance poetic ideas, as can punctuation. In addition, a title, although not strictly necessary (Emily Dickinson didn’t use them), is often a way to add meaning and depth to a poem, but lack of a title can be a sign of a student just not paying attention to the assignment. How I decide to group these elements will communicate different ideas about poetry.

In the end, here is my final grouping and dimensions:

Poetic Elements

• Includes the required poetry elements of the assignment (four of the following elements:  an end-stopped line, a run-on line, an enjambed line, an original metaphor, an original simile.)

• Ideas/themes in the poem are enhanced by the poetic techniques

• Poem uses grammar and punctuation purposely (if rules of standard written English are not followed, there should be clear poetic reasons),

Originality

•   Word choices in the poem are original, precise, and thoughtful,
• Poem shows the author’s style and point of view clearly and in an original manner

• Poem has a meaningful title,

Professionalism

• Paper has correct heading and formatting,
• Poem is submitted in the dropbox correctly

Introduction to Rubrics, Chapter three.

Stage 2: Listing

In this stage, rubric developers are asked to list both class or core objectives and then list  highest expectations for the specific assignment.

 In my poem one assignment, the class outcomes that relate to this assignment are: 

• Demonstrate an understanding of the basic vocabulary of fiction, poetry, and journal writing.
• Experiment with fiction, poetry, and journal techniques.  
• Develop authority, point of view, and individual voice and style in their writing. 

 Here are my ideas on highest expectations for the poem one assignment: 

• Includes the required poetry elements of the assignment (four of the following elements:  an end-stopped line, a run-on line, an enjambed line, an original metaphor, an original simile.)
• Ideas/themes in the poem are enhanced by the poetic techniques
• Paper has correct heading and formatting
• Poem is submitted in the dropbox correctly  
• Poem has a meaningful title
• Word choices in the poem are original, precise, and thoughtful
• Poem shows the author’s style and point of view clearly and in an original manner  
• Poem uses grammar and punctuation purposely (if rules of standard written English are not followed, there should be clear poetic reasons)

These expectations will be used to create the dimensions for a rubric.

In this chapter, the authors go into how to develop a rubric, making sure to relate to course and assignment objects.  Four stages are suggested in constructing a rubric: reflecting, listing, grouping and labeling, and application (Stevens and Levi 29-30). 

I decided as I was reading this chapter that I would take an assignment and use their method to develop a rubric, summarizing their ideas as I go. I am using my first poem assignment in English 1100: Creative Writing. The assignment description  is:

First Poem Assignment 

Length:  At least 10 lines. 

Poem should be typed in word processing program and saved as an RTF (Rich Text Format) file. 

Document should be named: yourlastname_poem1  (for example: swing_poem1)  

Poem should have heading in upper left corner with your name, class, date and the assignment (poem one). Title of the poem should be left-justified before the first line of the poem.

Write a new poem, using at least four of the techniques described in Lesson Six. The poem does not have to rhyme, but it can. 

The poem should include at least four of the following elements:  an end-stopped line, a run-on line, an enjambed line, an original metaphor, an original simile.

Stage One: reflecting. 

The authors give a list of questions to answer for a rubric (Stevens and Levi 29-32).  .

1. Why did you create this assignment ?
2. Have you given this assignment or a similar assignment before?
3. How does this assignment relate to the rest of what you are teaching?
4. What skills will students need to have or develop to successfully complete this assignment?
5. What exactly is the task assigned?
6. What evidence can students provide in this assignment that would show they have accomplished what you hoped they would accomplish?
7. What are the highest expectations you hve for student performance on this assignment?
8. What is the worst fulfillment of the assignment you can imagine short of simply not turning it in at all?

Here are my reflections on my poem one assignment.

1.  I wrote this assignment to develop students’ skills in using poetry elements and in expanding their creativity. I also developed it to ease reluctant students into writing poetry.

2.  Yes, I have given this assignment for that last few years. In general, students do pretty well, but they sometimes forget an element or used clichéd phrases and ideas. I would like to get them to be more original and specific. The comments I most often make on this poem are about being more specific and original.

3.  This assignment relates to three of my course objectives:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the basic vocabulary of fiction, poetry, and journal writing.
• Experiment with fiction, poetry, and journal techniques.  
• Develop authority, point of view, and individual voice and style in their writing. 

It also relates to future assignments—a second poem assignment, the final portfolio, and the final exam. If students do well and learn and understand the skills in this assignment, they will do better on the succeeding assignments also.

 4.  Students have some of the skills they need already, such as thinking about professional writing and creativity. At this point in the class, they have finished and revised a short story and a commentary paper as well as working on a journal. They are practicing new skills with poetry, and many of them have never written a poem before or never learned terms associated with poetry. They read a  lesson before completing this assignment as well as the text ; both explain line types and images. Students need to be able to understand the terms (end stopped line, run-on line, and enjambment as well as simile and metaphor) and they need to understand clichés. Some skills are more important than others, such as originality and using the poetic elements required, but other skills like grammar and punctuation and paper formatting are also included and practiced.

5.  The task is to write a 10 or more line poem using specific poetry elements related to lines and images. The tasks is broken down into parts: using poetry elements correctly, using original images, having a clear voice and style, being consistent in grammar and punctuation use, being professional in paper format and delivery, and typing poetry elements to a clear theme or meaning.

6.  In the past, some of the best poems to come out of this assignment have either been from students with a natural or previous grasp of poetry, who come up with original and specific images and ideas and have a clear, focused poem or students who really work at using the elements required in a focused, specific way. Several times, I’ve had students write this poem about not liking to write poem, but they do it well.

7.  An exemplary example of poem one would be a poem with a specific, interesting title that relates to the poem or even becomes a first line; the poem contains all the required elements and uses them effectively in the poem to enhance meaning and ideas in the poem; the poem has a correct heading, professional formatting, and is submitted in the dropbox correctly; the poem using original images and ideas and does not fall back on clichés or sometimes uses clichés in new ways; the poem using grammar, punctuation, and capitalization either according the standard English usage or in a purposeful way in the poem as another  element to create meaning; the poem shows the students’ writing style and point of view but in a new way.

8.  Students who struggle with this assignment usually have clichéd poems or rely on abstract, vague or secretive ideas. They also may struggle with using two of the line types or only use them for the sake of using them, not to enhance ideas in the poem.

Stevens, Danielle D. and Antonia J. Levi. Introduction to Rubrics: An Assessment Tool to Save Grading Time, Convey Effective Feedback and Promote Student Learning. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus, 2005. Print.

Chapters 1-2.

 So far in this text, I’ve learned some important terminology for rubrics. The left hand side of a rubric is called the dimension. I always called these categories, but thinking of them as dimensions is useful for me and for students—to think about writing as layered. The top of the rubric is called scale. Usually there are 3-5 scale levels on a rubrics. These authors also recommend no more than 6-7 dimensions (and no more than a page total). 

I have struggled with how to name the scale or proficiency levels. The authors have given some suggestions (based on others’ examples) such as: 

• Sophisticated, competent, partly competent, not yet competent
• Exemplary, proficient, marginal, unacceptable
• Advanced, intermediate high, intermediate, novice
• Distinguished, proficient, intermediate, novice
• Excellent, competent, needs work (8-9)

 These are useful; however, I still struggle with the lower proficiency wording. Words like “marginal” and “unacceptable” are accurate but can demoralize students. I like “needs work.” I’ll have to think more about wording as I create rubrics. 

In chapter two, the authors discuss some research about student feedback that is pretty interesting. Evidently, students often don’t or can’t read the extensive written comments on their work (something I have suspected for many years) but they also don’t like terse comments like “needs better organization, thesis unclear,” etc. Rubrics can give common ground this way but having specific feedback but in a more objective, organize manner. 

The authors give six main motivators for incorporating rubrics: 

• Rubrics provide timely feedback
• Rubrics prepare students to use detailed feed back [sic].
• Rubrics encourage critical thinking.
• Rubrics facilitate communication with others.
• Rubrics help us refine our teaching methods.
• Rubrics level the playing field. (28).

I have definitely thought of some of these reasons like timely and detailed feedback. I hadn’t really thought about the critical thinking or level playing field though. It’s true that when I have used rubrics in the past, I stay focused more on the paper and its elements than on the particular student or his or her abilities, so I can see how it would help make grading more objective. Also by weighting parts of the rubrics (making content more points than paper formatting, for example), students understand what is more important but also what they need to work on.