I spent the past hour pouring through Poster Presentation rubrics, looking to create a research/social sciences rubric that is based more around research than experimentation and process/based scientific methodology. The majority of poster presentations I’ve uncovered are rooted in the sciences and are very prescriptive devices that walk the student through precisely what to do. This creates no room, and as importantly, offers no value for creativity. My research led me to the question: What effect do rubrics have on student growth?
As a general rule I find rubrics constricting. On the one hand students are being given clear expectations and understanding as to what a specific type of assignment would generally look like. On the other hand, students spend k-12 being ‘taught to the test’ and are given precious little space to develop and explore creativity. Because they’ve been trained in this fashion, they are likely to do exactly what the rubric says, which puts creative (and affective) control in the hands of the rubric creator.
There needs to be a balance, or at least some categories that reflect the role of creativity. Even so, the idea of a creativity rubric smacks of irony. I know what rubrics are for: they help students understand what you are looking for in terms of grading, but they can stifle the most important part of the process–learning to be an individual.
Some Thoughts:
- Walmart’s new commercial claims to celebrate the heritage of black women, but focuses on black women’s weaves and relaxed hair and the hair product used to maintain a look that is in fact forced upon them. A bit ironic in my book.