The blog post, "Templates, Rubrics, and (Not) Learning," by Brabham seeks to address how teachers and professors are hindering their students’ ability to learn by providing them with assessment tools such as grading rubrics. The author also argues that modeling a desired outcome through templates also limits students’ ability to think critically. Throughout the article, it becomes clear that the author finds value in ambiguity and suggests that ambiguous assignments provide students with opportunities for critical thinking.
The author expands on the importance of ambiguous assignment by drawing on his own personal experiences as an educator. In the first part of the post, the author explains that his biggest critique as a teacher was that his expectations for the students, or lack thereof were unclear. As a response to this problem, he began creating grading rubrics, prompts, and posting template for different assignment such as essays and proposals. As argued by the author, students were beginning to “bargain and weigh the pros and cons of completing an assignment” (Brabham, 2011, par. 4). He further notes, students were purposely choosing not to complete certain assignments because the numeric grade value attributed to the assignment was not high enough. Therefore, as per claimed in the article, “assignments became more of a grading game rather than an opportunity to learn” (Brabham, 2011, par. 4). The author argues that providing ambiguous assignments allows students to think critically, and outside of the proverbial box. He even goes on to argue that the best assignment are ambiguous, and that students, given the opportunity, will surprise you. The author claims, like any assignment some students will prevail and others will fall behind. He notes, “teachers need to teach to their best students, not concern themselves too much with their worst students” (Brabham, 2011, par. 9). In my opinion, this completely goes against the policy of teaching. Regardless of the different learners in the classroom, the goal of the teacher is to create a positive classroom environment, one that promotes learning and encourages students to strive for success. Overall, teachers do not have to rely on ambiguity for student success. Students are capable of surprising you and synthesize critical thinking even with a clearly articulated grading rubric attached to their assignment. In particular, as argued by World and Stevens, rubrics have the “potential to advance student learning in non-traditional, first generation and minority students” (Wolf & Stevens, 20067, p.3). Perhaps the problem here lies in the fact that the teacher was using a point value rubric, where an introduction is worth 5 points or a having a title page 10 points. By using a holistic approach, students are aware of the performance criterion and levels, and this has potential to advance and promote student learning. Reference: Brabham, D. C. (2011, November 10). Templates, Rubrics, and (Not) Learning [Web log post]. Retrieved September 29, 2016, from https://dbrabham.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/templates-rubrics-and-not-learning/ Wolf, K., & Stevens, E. (2007). The Role of Rubrics in Advancing and Assessing Student Learning. The Journal of Effective Teaching, 7(1), 3-14. Retrieved September 24, 2016, from http://www.uncw.edu/jet/articles/vol7_1/wolf.pdf
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