Performance Rubrics for 95821 Production Management Assignment

Name: Thomas Murray
Scope: Course – 95821 Product Management and IT, Heinz School
Assessment Tool: Assignment Rubrics: Part 1, Part 2

Motivation/Purpose:

What factors/data/circumstances initiated the action?

I had taught the course before and wasn’t comfortable with the types of assessments I was using. The topic of the course is very broad, and the course is only 6 weeks long and I wanted to find a way to make the assessments appropriate for the topic but still manageable for the students and myself. Further, I wanted to be sure that my assessments addressed my learning goals.

Goal:

What did you hope to learn from the assessment?

To provide students and myself with a clear understanding of the requirements of the assignment and to ensure that the assignment was addressing course goals.

Methods/Tools:

How was the data collected?

In the process of clarifying my learning goals, I developed a rubric that identified the key learning components assessed by the assignment. It is a multi-phase assignment and there is a rubric for each phase.

Implementation:

How was the assessment activity carried out?

The rubric was distributed with the assignment description.

Who were the participants?

This is a graduate level course of approximately 20 – 35 students. Students work on the assignment in small groups.

When was/will the data be collected?

This is a multi-phase assignment, with a different rubric associated with each phase.

What is the current status: (Completed, Ongoing, Piloting, Developing)

This is an ongoing component of the course.

How was the data analyzed/interpreted?

I grade and review all the assignments, using the rubric as a guide.

Impact/Results:

How is the data being used?

Developing the rubric ended up being a “sanity check.” By analyzing the components of the assignment and checking the alignment with the learning content I was able to see that the assignment was the right one for the goals of the course. The rubric also seems to have helped the students – the last three assignment submissions have shown improvements.

Comments:

Although it took time to develop the rubric, it has made the grading process easier and has helped to address grading complaints. Developing a rubric is a useful exercise for checking the alignment between the learning content of the course and the assignments.