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Rubric-referenced assessments have been postulated to have both benefits and drawbacks on student learning outcomes. The ambiguity regarding the influence of rubrics on Malaysian postgraduate students' learning experience persists. Thus, in this study, a case study qualitative approach was adopted to explore postgraduate students' perception towards the role and influence of assessment rubrics in their learning experience. Criterion purposeful sampling was employed to select five postgraduate students and the Activity Theory was adopted as the theoretical foundation of the study. Data were collected via focus group discussion and were analysed using content analysis. The findings revealed that the explicit criteria in rubrics provided postgraduate students with clarity on the instructor's expectations, enabling them to set specific academic goals and approach their tasks purposefully. This eventually reduced their anxiety and increased their motivation and confidence in completing the assignments. Nevertheless, one student expressed that the preset criteria could limit learner's creativity and voice. The study also found that students perceived rubrics to have a positive influence on their learning strategies and knowledge gained. The students used rubrics as a tool to facilitate academic goal setting and self-assess their learning progress. Consequently, their knowledge retention and academic achievement improved. The findings imply that rubric-reference assessments should be contemplated by tertiary-level educational stakeholders. However, a well-designed rubric needs to be followed by sound implementation. Ongoing communication is key both between the instructors and between instructors and students to develop a shared understanding of the rubric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the analysis and assessment of a didactic proposal whose aims were to promote the students' inquiry skills and encourage their teachers in the first cycle of the primary school. The project implementation involved 354 students and 10 teachers of 13 courses of first, second and third grade of a public school from Argentina. It includes teacher training meetings, laboratory booklets with structured inquiry activities and the materials to do the experiments in the classroom. Improvement in the inquiry skills levels were detected in all the courses by an assessment rubric tool. Teachers showed a high satisfaction degree in a poll, marked a growing interest of their students in science and shared the results with the educational community. We aim to contribute to incorporation of scientific practices in science teaching from the first educational levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing, supervision and evaluation of students' dissertations has received a fair share of attention in academic literature, with a focus on problems of marking, information processing mechanisms, worldviews and more. In most texts, problems of inconsistency, transparency and fairness are identified, leading to frustration among supervisors, assessors and students. This article shares positive experience on the creation and application of an instrument which would benefit educators and contribute practical solutions on how the issues of inconsistency, transparency and fairness within the bachelor thesis process could be tackled. Using design science research, which utilizes gained knowledge to solve problems, create change or improve existing solutions, we developed the bachelor thesis writing and assessing instrument. Following three iterations of the instrument among writers, supervisors and assessors of bachelor theses at the Estonian Business School, we conclude that the use of the instrument has greatly improved consistency, transparency and fairness of the thesis-process, thus benefitting all three parties in particular and the university in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The University of California, San Diego is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), and was undergoing review to reaffirm accreditation during the library’s rubric project. Since the university’s previous review in 2010, WSCUC has introduced information literacy as a core competency to be included in “an integrated course of study of sufficient breadth and depth to prepare…[students] for work, citizenship, and life-long learning” (WSCUC, 2013). Additionally, “for each core competency, the institution may set a specific level of performance expected at graduation and gather evidence of the achievement of that level of performance (which can be based on sampling) using the assessment methods of its choice” (WSCUC, 2013). Information literacy instruction and assessment has long been at the core of academic library services, so it made sense for the library to partner with campus to help set the standard of performance expected of undergraduate students for information literacy. Within the same 2010-2020 timeframe, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) replaced their long-standing Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (2000) with the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (2016). However, the WSCUC’s 2013 handbook mentions the use of Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) VALUE rubrics, and the Information Literacy VALUE Rubric (n.d.) is based on the now-outdated ACRL Standards. Therefore, UC San Diego librarians needed to find a way to align the new accreditation core competencies with their new professional standards. To do so, a library task force combined the two documents by mapping the ACRL Framework onto the existing structure of the AAC&U rubric. However, there were several aspects of the ACRL Framework that did not directly relate to the AAC&U rubric, so the task force made two significant additions: 1) when the knowledge practices or dispositions described in the ACRL Framework were more basic or foundational than the “Benchmark” (i.e., scoring a 1) category on the rubric, the task force included the additional column of “Foundation” (i.e., scoring a 0) to indicate that without this fundamental knowledge, a learner would have difficulty reaching the “Benchmark,” and 2) when the knowledge practices or dispositions described in the ACRL Framework did not fit into the pre-existing rubric rows (i.e., labelled with the ACRL Standards), the task force found that adding the row “Understand How Information is Organized” would encapsulate the remaining, uncategorized knowledge practices and dispositions of the ACRL Framework. The UC San Diego Library’s ultimate goal for this combined rubric is to provide the foundation for creating an in-house online database that instruction librarians can use to create appropriate information literacy learning outcomes for their workshops or courses, paving the way for designing deep learning and creating appropriate formative and summative assessments.

Abstract In this research study, unlike previous studies that have examined the advantages of peer review for low proficiency students, uses a longitudinal action mixed methods design is used to explore the impact of peer review on the academic writing of students with low English proficiency. The format was a longitudinal action study, which analyzed the written peer review feedback, essays, and reflections of 40 learners. Results showed that at the beginning of the study, the students experienced challenges in identifying problems with rhetorical content of their peers and by the end of 11 weeks, they were able to provide succinct peer feedback that included examples and explanations of classmates’ grammatical and rhetorical errors. Results also showed improvement in their own writing skills. Implications for implementing peer review in foriegn language writing contexts are discussed.

In this research study, unlike previous studies that have examined the advantages of peer review for low proficiency students, uses a longitudinal action mixed methods design is used to explore the impact of peer review on the academic writing of students with low English proficiency. The format was a longitudinal action study, which analyzed the written peer review feedback, essays, and reflections of 40 learners. Results showed that at the beginning of the study, the students experienced challenges in identifying problems with rhetorical content of their peers and by the end of 11 weeks, they were able to provide succinct peer feedback that included examples and explanations of classmates' grammatical and rhetorical errors. Results also showed improvement in their own writing skills. Implications for implementing peer review in foriegn language writing contexts are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to describe (1) the need for an assessment of language skills rubrics; (2) students' abilities in creating holistic and analytic rubrics; (3) the potential and relevance of the application of the rubric in the micro-teaching class; (4) the obstacles faced by students in compiling the rubric. This research used mix method to answer the research questions and a quantitative approach to measure students' understanding of the rubric. Basic competence was assessed using the rubric and mapped students' competencies in designing the rubric. The qualitative rubric was used to describe students' difficulties in applying the rubrics produced in the learning process at school. The population of this study was 250 students of Indonesian Language Education in Central Java selected using a random sampling technique. The study shows that (1) students' knowledge of the components presented in the language skill assessment rubric is still low: most students know that the assessment rubric can be done analytically and holistically, but they cannot explain the differences and how to design the language skill assessment rubric. (2) The rubric produced by students in assessing reading and writing skills is good enough and relevant to be applied in the school: 76% for reading skills and 83% for writing skills. (3) The rubric produced in assessing speaking and writing skills is less optimal and not relevant enough: 78% of students are unable to make good rubrics for listening skills, and 49% are unable to make a rubric for speaking skills.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to compare faculty member evaluations with student self‐evaluations in a clinical endodontic course in the dental school at King Saud University and to evaluate the reliability of the students' self‐assessment scores after using a rubric with well‐defined criteria. Materials and methods: Evaluated and self‐evaluated endodontic cases that were clinically treated by the fourth‐year undergraduate dental students at the College of Dentistry, Girls University Campus, at King Saud University over 2 years (2017–2018) were included. Cases included anterior teeth, premolars and molars. The evaluation form was divided into six sections with well‐defined criteria to cover all aspects of nonsurgical root canal treatment with a maximum grade of 10 points can be scored for each student per case. The students evaluated themselves for each section and then were evaluated by two faculty members. Student and faculty assessment agreement and the reliability of the students' self‐assessment scores were measured. A p ≤.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 363 cases were included: 26.7% anterior teeth, 38.84% premolars and 34.43% molars. The students evaluated themselves with higher grades compared to the evaluators' grading in all steps and in the overall grading in all teeth types. The students' self‐assessment scores showed good and moderate reliability in all steps and in the overall grading. Conclusion: The students tend to overrate their performance, and their assessments have moderate to good reliability, which reflects the reliability of the rubric used as an accurate measurement tool that helps the evaluator and the student objectively assess their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is ongoing interest in developing rigorous and accurate assessment methods in higher education, particularly in the use of assessment rubrics and in providing more useful feedback to students rather than a simple grade. However, there has been little used of reliable assessment rubrics that provide feedback to individual students on their teamwork participation and skills, and which assist academic staff in assessing teamwork among students. This paper reports on the second phase of a study that aimed to evaluate a rubric to assess skills and processes in teamwork, and whether a rubric facilitated a better learning experience than a simple marking scheme. The second phase focused on the implementation of a revised assessment rubric designed to assist students and staff in understanding what was expected in the assessment process, and in particular the creation of efficient tools and metrics to measure both teamwork and individual performance during collaborative team design projects. Findings from two surveys of students provided the dataset for this second phase of the study. The findings demonstrate that assessment rubrics provide an important adjunct in improving students' teamwork performance and their understanding of their learning activities. This study will also contribute to ongoing discussions on higher education assessment methods. Practitioner Notes 1. Rubrics are useful in assessing skills and processes in teamwork 2. Students' reflections on team processes can improve their learning experiences 3. Rubrics provide extra support to teaching staff in grading students' works 4. Rubrics improve consistency in grading 5. Effective assessments encourage students' satisfaction and better learning outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID19 outbreak brought about many challenges including the shifting of university assessments to conduct in online mode. This research study tries to explore the impact of newly designed online formative assessments on students’ learning, in a Plant Physiology course. The designing of assessments were carried out focusing on constructive alignment, for which an Open Book Test (OBT) was conducted in three parts: OBT1 –problem based learning assignment, providing feedback using a rubric; OBT2 –multiple choice, multi response, matching and missing word questions with immediate feedback; OBT3 –analysing research results with MCQs and short answer questions with feedback. A mixed approach of convergent parallel design method was followed to collect data through two questionnaires and interviews. Findings indicated students’ engagement in self- determined learning in solving a real-world problem and their enthusiasm in learning with research-based questions in assessments, while self-assessing their performance through feedback. However, geographically varied technological challenges need to be addressed in conducting successful online assessments.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate linguistic factors affecting the evaluation of the argumentative essays in written tests taken by junior and senior students, aged 16 to 18, attending high schools in Greece. To achieve this, we analyzed textual characteristics and scoring of 265 juniors and seniors, graded by 15 different raters. To examine the contribution of linguistic parameters to the assessment, we developed an automated tool to record and evaluate students' lexical and syntactic features in the Greek language. The results revealed that the extensive use of nominal groups including an adjective and a noun and the utilization of both impersonal and passive syntax, as well as adverbs to a lesser extent, contribute the most to positive grading in language tests. Furthermore, we identified a correlation between language and the other criteria of the evaluation rubric, namely content and organization. The paper contributes to the discussion about objectivity in writing evaluation in the Greek setting and to the creation of a rubric that ensures a more effective assessment of writing tasks. • Language plays a major role in both organization and content assessment. • Rater's sex affects the possible outcome in assessment. • The use of adjectives contributes the most in language assessment. • There is correlation among syntax complexity and graded performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose/Objectives: The aim of this study is to report data on the lack of a proper patient handoff system in dentistry and dental education and to present a possible solution to integrate this into curriculum using the "entrustable professional activities" (EPAs) framework. Methods: Delphi participants from seven US dental schools provided feedback on a preliminary definition of handoff, a mnemonic and an assessment rubric. 2019 American Dental Education Association Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education (ADEA CCI) participants further evaluated the handoff EPA using the EQual rubric for EPA quality and structure. Results: Delphi participants identified points of transition in dentistry, selected the D‐PASS as a mnemonic, and agreed with the evaluation rubric. The ADEA CCI participants agreed the handoff EPA describes work that is essential for the profession and suitable for entrustment. Conclusion: The D‐PASS rubric is an effective way to assess patient handoffs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID19 outbreak brought about many challenges including the shifting of university assessments to conduct in online mode. This research study tries to explore the impact of newly designed online formative assessments on students' learning, in a Plant Physiology course. The designing of assessments were carried out focusing on constructive alignment, for which an Open Book Test (OBT) was conducted in three parts: OBT1 -problem based learning assignment, providing feedback using a rubric; OBT2 -multiple choice, multi response, matching and missing word questions with immediate feedback; OBT3 -analysing research results with MCQs and short answer questions with feedback. A mixed approach of convergent parallel design method was followed to collect data through two questionnaires and interviews. Findings indicated students' engagement in self-determined learning in solving a real-world problem and their enthusiasm in learning with research-based questions in assessments, while self-assessing their performance through feedback. However, geographically varied technological challenges need to be addressed in conducting successful online assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The development of a process safety maturity model as well as process safety assessment rubrics, specific for assessment on process safety management implementation maturity among major hazard installations in Malaysia. • The assessment on process safety management implementation maturity among major hazard installation in Malaysia, under each assessed process safety management elements as well as overall implementation maturity. • The proposal of suitable recommendations for improvements in effectiveness of process safety management implementation, under each assessed process safety management elements. Despite the widespread process safety management (PSM) implementation among major hazard installations (MHI) in Malaysia, an assessment on current PSM implementation maturity had never been conducted. This study aims to provide such assessment, through the utilisation of PSM elements under the OSHA PSM standard. The study first involved the measurement of PSM implementation achievement grades as well as, the development of PSM implementation related process safety maturity model and process safety assessment rubrics. Both the achievement grades and maturity model were then utilised for the assessment on PSM implementation maturity among MHI in Malaysia. Suitable recommendations for improvements in effectiveness of PSM implementation were finally proposed with reference to the assessment rubrics. From the individual PSM elements implementation assessment results, the Pre-Startup Safety Review element registered the highest representative percentage of 24 %, of MHI in Malaysia having PSM implementation maturity below the predefined acceptable maturity levels. From the overall PSM implementation assessment results, it was found that a representative percentage of 40 % of MHI in Malaysia displayed PSM implementation maturity below the similar predefined acceptable maturity levels. However, the study emphasised that future improvements to the PSM implementation maturity could be achieved through the implementation of the proposed recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) model with an assessment rubric on the students’ critical thinking development in learning financial accounting. This quasi-experimental study conducted at a university in Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia involved 41 second-year students. They were divided into two groups: 22 students in the experimental group, 19 students in the control group. Pre-test and post-test were used to examine the effectiveness level. The data analysis techniques included descriptive statistical test and MannWhitney Test. The results showed that the mean scores of the pre-test and post-test in the experimental group were 47 and 60 respectively. The mean scores of the pretest and post-test in the control group were 54 and 50 respectively. Moreover, the Mann-Whitney Test results showed that the value of Sig. (2-tailed)> alpha, that was 0.114> 0.05, indicating that Ho was accepted, and Ha was rejected. It indicates that albeit not significantly, the use of assessment rubric in the PBL model could increase the students’ learning outcomes in the experimental group as compared with the students in the control group using PBL model only. It could improve the students’ critical thinking skills. The limitations of the study and implications to future inquiries are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a pilot study to improve the learning process on distance learning Engineering master's degrees. We propose an activity where the students individually produce a video in which they explain the solution to one of their assignments. They then receive the teacher's feedback and are acquainted with the assessment rubric. Finally, they produce a second version of the video, the assessment of which is the basis for their overall mark. The results of the study show that students improved their ability to give oral presentations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Author/s Noa Talaván Tomás Costal Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain ABSTRACT Research on the use of active dubbing activities in foreign language learning is gaining an increasing amount of attention. The most obvious skill to be enhanced in this context is oral production and a few authors have already mentioned the potential benefits of asking students to record their voices in a ‘semi-professional’ manner. The present project attempts to assess the potential of intralingual dubbing (English-English) to develop general oral production skills in adult university students of English B2 level in an online learning environment, and to provide general guidelines of dubbing task assessment for practitioners. To this end, a group of undergraduate pre-intermediate students worked on ten sequenced activities using short videos taken from an American sitcom over a period of two months. The research study included language assessment tests, questionnaires and observation as the basic data gathering tools to make the results as reliable and thorough as possible for this type of educational setting. The conclusions provide a good starting point for the establishment of basic guidelines that may help teachers implement dubbing tasks in the language class.

This paper reports on a study in which students self-graded an assessment task with the aid of an assessment rubric. On comparing student self-grades with those of the tutor it was found that majority (72.6%) of the students failed to demonstrate good self-assessment skills with student grades ranging from 25 less than the tutor grade to an overestimation of 36 above the tutor grade. Consistent with other research studies the results further show that weaker students graded themselves higher than the better performing students. However, there was a tendency for male students to grade themselves higher than female students. Analysis of the qualitative data reveals that students' feelings about self-grading may play a role in the grades they assign themselves. The author therefore recommends that affective factors need to considered and addressed prior to the self-grading task. Furthermore, it is evident that rubrics alone may not necessarily improve self-grading and that internalisation of the rubric criteria and standards, as well as practice is crucial. Finally, in order to produce graduates who are able to appraise their performance, self-assessment should be embedded early in the students degree programme and be sustained throughout the degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study adopted a longitudinal retrospective case study approach to investigate Chinese business students’ transitional learning experience in a problem-based learning (PBL) course with innovative assessment practices. The study focused on students’ beliefs and strategy use in a constructively aligned PBL course for business communication. Eight students who had made notable progress were chosen for retrospective analysis. The data included 48 journal entries, interviews, and writing samples collected at different stages of the course. This study identified taxonomies of participants’ beliefs about learning and writing, their perceptions of assessment, and their strategy use for learning. It also examined changes in beliefs, perceptions, and strategy use to determine the nature of the students’ learning experience in this PBL course. Findings suggest a recognised need to design PBL courses that align social constructivist learning principles with students’ beliefs and strategies. The results also highlight the importance of developing appropriate assessment rubrics to enhance student engagement with PBL learning for improved outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite the growing interest in researching digital multimodal composing (DMC) in recent years, there were few attempts of tapping how assessments on DMC can best be devised to maximize students' learning opportunities. To narrow this gap, this study proposed a set of product- and process-oriented classroom assessment rubrics that function as self-and peer-assessment tools for students when collaborating with each other to create DMC in online EAP contexts. During a four-week intervention with a veteran EAP educator, the rubric was tried out in her EAP classes as students worked in pairs to complete a DMC task. Its effectiveness was then evaluated based on the quality of student writings as well as their discussion, which was measured in terms of equality and mutuality. The product-oriented assessment rubrics was found to result in marked improvement in layout, navigation and rhetoric, whilst the process-oriented classroom assessment rubrics also enhanced both the equality and the mutuality of the collaborative process, as the dyads were inclined to establish a collaborative relationship during the task. These findings underscore the importance of using assessment rubrics as a formative assessment activity to help students harness the genre of DMC from different perspectives. • A set of assessment rubrics is developed for multi-modal collaborative writing. • The product rubrics led to improvement in layout, navigation and rhetoric aspect. • The process rubrics enhanced the equality and mutuality of collaborative process. • These rubrics should be used as formative assessment activities in EAP context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Voces de la Educacion is the property of Voces de la Educacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Research on the use of active dubbing activities in foreign language learning is gaining an increasing amount of attention. The most obvious skill to be enhanced in this context is oral production and a few authors have already mentioned the potential benefits of asking students to record their voices in a 'semiprofessional' manner. The present project attempts to assess the potential of intralingual dubbing (English-English) to develop general oral production skills in adult university students of English B2 level in an online learning environment and to provide general guidelines of dubbing task assessment for practitioners. To this end, a group of undergraduate pre-intermediate students worked on ten sequenced activities using short videos taken from an American sitcom over a period of two months. The research study included language assessment tests, questionnaires and observation as the basic data gathering tools to make the results as reliable and thorough as possible for this type of educational setting. The conclusions provide a good starting point for the establishment of basic guidelines that may help teachers implement dubbing tasks in the language class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the design and development of a rubric for assessing mathematical modelling for mathematical modelling tasks at the secondary level. A rubric was crafted based on the mathematical modelling competencies synthesised by the researchers identified from four sources. The rubric was fine-tuned following an interview with three practising mathematics teachers, who then used the refined rubric to score students' work on a mathematical modelling task. Postassessment interviews were conducted with the teachers to check the usefulness of the rubric and the discrepancy of the scores. An interrater reliability analysis, which was carried out during the study, showed that teachers could grade students' work reliably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment scores of students in mathematics in an Open Distant Learning setting have not always been impressive. In this paper an exploratory study into the assessment of students' performance in the first year Calculus module is being conducted using past examination scripts between 2006 and 2009. The study, done at the University of South Africa (UNISA), re-assesses the work done in the end-of-year examination, by both looking at the distribution of marks awarded and assigning new scores based on an assessment rubric adapted for the problem at hand. By using the rubric scores, further assessment of students of qualitative dimensions is possible which can serve as feedback for the module lecturer. They include assessing the relative importance of students' understanding of a problem, recognizing what was wanted, as well as formulating a solution strategy; implementing the strategy, hesitating, and displaying ingenuity in the solution of Calculus problems. In the process, we use the techniques of splitting the measuring instrument to estimate a reliability coefficient (Conbach's alpha coefficient, Rulon's split half reliability coefficient and Spearman-Brown split half reliability coefficient) on the basis of two halves and we provide a mean score showing a perfect understanding and proved that it is possible to standardize it by normalizing to 25, so as to facilitate comparisons with earlier averages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The objective of this study was to compare faculty member evaluations with student self-evaluations in a clinical endodontic course in the dental school at King Saud University and to evaluate the reliability of the students' self-assessment scores after using a rubric with well-defined criteria., Materials and Methods: Evaluated and self-evaluated endodontic cases that were clinically treated by the fourth-year undergraduate dental students at the College of Dentistry, Girls University Campus, at King Saud University over 2 years (2017-2018) were included. Cases included anterior teeth, premolars and molars. The evaluation form was divided into six sections with well-defined criteria to cover all aspects of nonsurgical root canal treatment with a maximum grade of 10 points can be scored for each student per case. The students evaluated themselves for each section and then were evaluated by two faculty members. Student and faculty assessment agreement and the reliability of the students' self-assessment scores were measured. A p ≤ .05 was considered significant., Results: A total of 363 cases were included: 26.7% anterior teeth, 38.84% premolars and 34.43% molars. The students evaluated themselves with higher grades compared to the evaluators' grading in all steps and in the overall grading in all teeth types. The students' self-assessment scores showed good and moderate reliability in all steps and in the overall grading., Conclusion: The students tend to overrate their performance, and their assessments have moderate to good reliability, which reflects the reliability of the rubric used as an accurate measurement tool that helps the evaluator and the student objectively assess their performance., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Abstract This resource is a mentored critical thinking and writing exercise for use in a dental school curriculum. It was created to help students learn to develop a problem statement, question, or hypothesis; perform an increasingly sophisticated search of peer-reviewed literature; read and critically assess information and evidence; formulate some conclusions about the information they discover; and write a short, original referenced paper of 1,500-2,500 words describing their findings. This resource is intended to extend over three academic quarters. The educational significance of this student exercise is the one-on-one faculty mentoring that is built into the assignment. Mentors model evidenced-based decision-making, such as the ability to search peer-reviewed literature, determine quality of evidence, and utilize this information in the decision-making process.

This study examined students' perspectives on the use of assessment criteria and rubrics in graphic design studio at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. This assessment strategy was introduced with the desire to improve students' participation and involvement in studio-based learning programme. At the end of the semester, a questionnaire was used to gather responses from a sample of 108 students about their opinions on the use of assessment rubric. Analyses of the data collected demonstrate that students were generally positive about the use of rubric in the peer assessment process. Descriptive statistics showed that 86% of the students agreed that assessment criteria helped them in their learning; they found the peer assessment process as a valuable learning experience and 46% contended that they needed training in the use of assessment rubric. The results further suggest 89% of the respondents agreed that the use of assessment rubric enabled them to socially interact. The conclusion drawn from the evidence is that using assessment rubric directed learning activities and can have positive implications for the learning experience in studiobased learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this third paper in a series describing the Quantitative Reasoning in the Contemporary World course, the authors provide an adaptation of the Association of American Colleges and Universities quantitative literacy VALUE rubric. Describing achievement levels in six core competencies (interpretation, representation, calculation, analysis/synthesis, and communication), the resulting Quantitative Literacy Assessment Rubric (QLAR) is applicable to grading student work and has exhibited a high degree of reliability in two separate scoring tests (97% and 88% respectively). The distribution of the six core competencies across the 24 case studies in the authors’ quantitative reasoning casebook shows that interpretation, calculation, and analysis/synthesis were present in most all of the case studies. In addition to acting as a reliable scoring tool, the QLAR can improve teaching, learning, and curricular materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Mixed quantitative and qualitative methods were used to assess student attitudes toward the assessment criteria for higher-order critical and analytical thinking skills in writing-intensive curricula in first-year, general education courses. The courses varied in emphasis on critical thinking in the criteria used to assess writing. The analysis is grounded in social constructivist and sociocultural theories of writing. Students in a course featuring explicit, detailed criteria for assessing critical thinking skills rated such criteria as more useful to their learning, than did students in a course with fewer criteria focused on critical thinking. The perceived usefulness of the more elaborate rubric did not come at the expense of its clarity and ease of use. Results are discussed in reference to insights about the relationship between student attitudes and classroom assessment practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Eurasian Journal of Educational Research (EJER) is the property of Eurasian Journal of Educational Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)