Grading Inquiry Projects

Abstract

Inquiry projects have not been easy to evaluate within the parameters of academic grading systems. Rubric-guided assessment of inquiry projects is discussed in this chapter along with the advantages and problems associated with this approach.Academic disciplines are defined not only by bodies of knowledge but also by ways of knowing-by interpretive frameworks and methods of investigation. Merely mastering a knowledge base does not mean one is educated in that field; education in a discipline involves engaging in investigations to create knowledge in ways particular to that discipline. Intellectual communities can be viewed, in fact, as networks of individuals who engage with others in the field in "a common search for meaning" in their work or academic lives (Westerhoff, 1987).In this chapter I focus on student assignments that consist of this search for meaning. I use the term inquiry project to refer to these assignments, although they take many different forms-some formal in nature, others more casual. The common elements are that students formulate and pursue questions of personal interest using multiple sources of information and, usually, multiple investigative methods. Concepts from the particular discipline (or course) provide a framework for the methodology and findings.Involving students in inquiry projects has come to be viewed as a critical component of learning in many fields of higher education (Mishler, 1990;Smagorinsky, 1996). These investigations make visible the methodology, values, and intellectual stance of the discipline. They reveal to students their own knowledge in ways that only the use of knowledge in real settings can offer, and they demonstrate in powerful ways how knowledge is used in a field (Schon, 1987). Additionally, the integration of personal purposes with academic learning is critical in assisting career decisions and creating early initiation into professional roles and commitments.Inquiry projects, so desirable from the standpoint of student commitment and learning, have not been easy to evaluate within the parameters of academic grading systems. As an example of one solution to this problem, I describe an approach to grading used for an inquiry project that I have assigned over the past four years in several classes. Exhibit 9.1 shows the handout that describes this project.

The Role of Rubrics in Learning and Implementation of Authentic Assessment: A Literature Review

“…In the same vein, Li and Lindsey (2015), in their effort to explore the variations between students' and teachers' readings of rubrics, realized that discrepancies in interpretation and application of the rubric in essay evaluation are potential limitations, especially in first-year writing programs. For this reason, Wiggins (1998) and Busching (1998) suggest that the variability of students and teachers' interpretation can be reduced significantly when generic terms are clarified with "anchors", task-specific exemplars or indicators. In order to make both the student and teacher confident that they are developing the required skills and understandings, specific features of understanding included in a generic rubric should also correlate to learning outcomes in the program of studies (Learnalberta.ca, 2018).…”