This is a sample lesson plan for using an exemplar and a rubric in class to discuss assignment expectations. While this example focusses on a written assignment, don’t forget that examples and rubrics can be used for any field, from performance art to clinical rotations.
Materials: upcoming assignment; rubric; example assignments – either example assignments you wrote, or preferably, examples of student work from the past; you want at least two examples, one representing ideal work and one with improvements to be made
- You can either provide these materials in print or electronically via Canvas, depending on what your normal classroom style is.
Lesson Progression:
- Entire class: Review the assignment to be completed: briefly review the assignment description so that students are familiar with the upcoming assignment.
- Small group discussion: have the class split up into small groups or split the class up into groups, depending on your classroom norms. The class can discuss some or all of the following questions (or other questions that you find useful; hopefully these ideas get your started:
- What are the strengths of each example? What are the strategies used in each example? Where did the examples follow the assignment?
- What are the weaknesses of each example? What are the examples missing from the assignment? What might you correct, even if you’re not entirely sure how to correct it?
- If you were grading each example against the rubric, how would you grade each one? What comments would you make? What questions about the rubric does this raise for you? What do you feel like you need more information on how to do better about?
- If you were to revise either example, what might you say instead or how might you complete the assignment instead?
- Optional activity: have each group entirely revise one of the examples.
- Small group shares: Have each group share what they discussed with the class. You may:
- Have different groups focus on different examples
- Have each group share one observation about the “good” example and one observation about the example that needs more work
- Pull up each example on the screen and revise or annotate them with input from each group
- Have each group evaluate each example versus one category on the rubric and discuss their findings
- Instructor-led dialogue: What did the students do well in their analysis? What is still missing from your discussion? What do you want to make sure students emphasize in their assignments? Are there key points that students often miss?
While these are not the only questions to ask nor the only way to organize a discussion of exemplars and rubrics, hopefully these ideas get you started.