Great Advice on Presentations

Great advice...

The Future of Presentations: Top Trends for Communicators from Haiku Deck

Rueful “Rubrics”

A recent encounter with a colleague who insisted that he could not award a student the highest mark on a so called “rubric” because this would mean the student is perfect has raised some concerns over the fairness, and therefore quality, of assessments sometimes meted out to unfortunate and unsuspecting students.

I was a member of a team assigned to assess pre-service teachers. They are assessed on a number of dimensions ranging from lesson planning to the sometimes intangible qualities of professionalism. Although some of us on the team referred to the assessment instrument as a rubric (I know I did), on further reflection it is not a rubric, but is rather a rating scale. I define the instrument as a rating scale because it consists of a series of statements that are ranked (rated) from one to five, with "five" being the highest. For example, a statement may go as follows: “student is punctual” or “objectives were clearly written.” A student may get a "four" if she is mostly on time or a "two" if his objectives are unclear. In my case, I believe the critical elements missing from this rating scale are the criteria that describe the behaviours or conditions that warrant a particular rating.

An end and a beginning

So… after two years, give or take a month or so, I am finally approaching the goal of achieving a masters’ degree in Instructional Design and Technology.

It has not been an easy road. As I learned throughout the various courses, distance education may not be the best option for everyone, especially if one lacks powerful motivation, but it is here to stay. It also provides opportunities for previously under served populations who may not otherwise have had an opportunity to access educational offerings, especially in higher education. But I digress, this post is about ending… and beginning.