The anti-rubric rubric

For the first time this semester, I required one of my classes to do a midterm exam "rubric." I use this word loosely-- very loosely. I wanted the students to take glossary compilations they had been working on each week, compile the information and add more from our class lectures and activities. I told them they could arrange it any way they liked, but I encouraged them to do it the way their brains worked.  [By this I mean through their learning styles and/or multiple intelligences.] Some of the students came up with really creative formats, and I have included photographs of their work below. As with all projects, some students really loved this kind of studying and other really didn't find something that worked for them yet. From a teacher's perspective, I am ecstatic about the results of assigning a study model two weeks before the exam is due. Not a single student failed; the lowest grade was a "C." In fact, a number of students approached me during the exam and asked if they could answer more than what was required. Well sure, I said. Go right ahead. The average exam grade was a 92 percent and this was on an exam that was largely written. I tested the students using multiple choice, short answer, long answer, matching and media assessment. They did beautifully. I handed out a very short questionnaire after returning the exam grades to get an idea of how the "rubric" idea worked for studying history and if they though it might work in other classes as well.

Here is some of the feedback I got on the project:

• "I have never made a rubric before...I feel that my rubric helped because it helped me organize my information and remember everything...I would probably change the font for each chapter/unit.
• "I don't feel like it helped much-- I will try something different."
• "It helped-- it got me started...this helped me learn how I study the best...I [will] continue to improve the rubric and expand on it. It was a starting point that got me going and helped me stay on task. I continued to use it throughout my studying."
• This student made online flash cards and their own quiz: "It helped because I could study any time and anywhere because I can access study materials on my phone." They went on to say they are already using this program in their other classes. [An upcoming blog will describe this program!]
• "I think it helped, but also doing the glossaries and really liking classes...Next time I'd like to maybe turn [my rubric] into flash cards and draw on each of those individually."
• "I made [my rubric] on google docs and at the time I had no idea what I was doing until after I finished it. I started getting ideas of how I can do it better next time...I see how useful they are when studying...I think it helped but next time it will be better because of how much I learned."
• "I feel like it really helped my grade, because I had to read throughout all my notes to be able to divide them into sections. I feel like [for] the next rubric, I will use more art. I learn better through vision and seeing things. [For] the next rubric, I would like to separate each vocabulary word and subject but draw it out!"
• "It helped. Straight up. I would make a few adaptions to make it less than 15 pages...I would write it out by hand on a poster board; I study better with handwritten notes versus typing."