| Second, students were assessed
on Richard Paul's (1999) critical thinking qualities:
accuracy, breadth, clarity, depth, precision,
and relevance. Third, students were assessed
on their ability to observe, analyze, and interpret
the role of learning styles when assessing health-related
information.
For the ACT project, Dr.
Ubbes focused on improving a rubric that assessed
health education professional skills. The ACT
meetings and discussions helped her to clarify
the similarities and differences between professional
skills and thinking skills, both of which require
cognitive thought processes. As a result of these
discussions, she continued to reflect on how
professional health education skills needed to
emerge in tandem with critical thinking skills
(Ubbes & Zullig,
2007; Ubbes, 2008). Because Lynch & Wolcott
(2001, p. 5) suggested that, "When thinking
skills are lacking, poor decision making and
planning result,"
she wanted to use (and make transparent) her
planning model as a tool for student thinking
and planning. Consequently, she created two additional
rubrics for assessing student thinking and learning
at the end of the semester. All three rubrics
will be implemented the next time she teaches
the course in an upcoming semester. These rubrics
are:
• Rubric
#1: Scoring Rubric
of Professional Skills (used by students for
planning purposes AND
by the instructor for evaluation purposes)
• Rubric #2: Scoring
Rubric to Evaluate Quality of Thinking (used
as a self-assessment tool)
• Rubric
#3: Rubric to Reflect on Your Critical Thinking Process While Participating
in a Peer-Led Human Senses
Presentation (used as a self-assessment
tool when a colleague/group implements a multi-genre
presentation)
Rubric #1 was refined
during this semester so that more specific guidelines
were provided for student planning purposes.
The example below shows how each professional
skill is guided by inquiry-based questions for
helping students to accomplish the tasks. Rubrics
#2 and #3 were written at the end of the semester
so they have not been implemented yet with students.
Assignment
Human Body and Brain as Design
Revised Outcomes, with
Guiding Questions for Students
Rubrics
Rubric #1: Professional Skills
Rubric #2: Quality of Thinking
Rubric #3: Reflection on Critical
Thinking Process While Participating in
a Peer-Led Human Senses Presentation
|
