Self Guided Assessment

Co-creating assessment criteria for an unconventional assignment

Tackling complex global challenges requires innovative solutions that are constantly reimagined and refined through new experiences and knowledge. Educators can help develop these skills by creating assignments that challenge students to step out of their comfort zones, encouraging them to try unfamiliar tasks and adopt new ways of thinking.

Yet, students often feel overwhelmed by such challenges. In an education system focused on grades and test performance, the willingness to experiment and learn from failure has declined (Lau, 2016). This aversion to uncertainty limits their ability to take risks, fail, and grow—key components of critical thinking.

This learning activity develops these essential skills by:

1) Engaging students in co-creating assessment criteria for an unconventional assignment.
2) Encouraging reflective learning through completing and (peer) assessing the assignment.

This tool focuses on co-creating a rubric for an unconventional assignment designed to foster critical thinking. While the primary focus is on developing the rubric, the assignment is a valuable learning experience, helping students build skills such as openness and learning mindset, creativity and perseverance.

Learning outcome

The student is able to critically identify learning objectives, translate them into assessment criteria and reflect on their learning and personal growth

Students work together to design and apply an assessment rubric for an unconventional assignment. They then reflect on their learning, both through the rubric creation process and their experiences completing the assignment.

1.Introducing the unconventional assignment & Brainstorming

20 mins

Present the description and learning objective of the unconventional assignment.

Examples include writing a film review (see Unconventional assignment example), designing an infographic, producing a podcast, or creating a satirical news article. Highlight that these tasks push students out of their comfort zones, encouraging radically different ways of thinking.

Explain that creating the rubric to assess the unconventional assignment is a critical thinking exercise. Involve students in determining the assessment criteria to give them greater ownership of their learning process.

Divide the class into an even number of groups, with up to five students in each group.

Individually, each student reviews the assignment description, followed by 10 minutes of brainstorming on potential assessment criteria, writing down their ideas on sticky notes and placing them on a shared sheet within their group.

2.Clustering and Refining Criteria

35 mins

First, each group reviews their brainstormed criteria, identifies patterns, organises related items into clusters and names each cluster.

Then, pair two groups to compare and refine their criteria into 4 to 8 shared categories.

Display all subgroup results and hold a class discussion to merge them into a final set of 4 to 8 overarching categories with clustered criteria. Encourage students to justify their choices and collaboratively resolve any disagreements.

Tip: remind students to listen actively to each other, question assumptions and critically evaluate the proposed criteria. Ensure that every group member contributes their perspective to the process.

3.Crafting a Rubric

45 - 60 mins

After reaching a common agreement on the categories and criteria for the rubric, students collaboratively create detailed descriptions for each assessment criterion in a World Café format.

Divide students into as many groups as there are assessment categories (e.g., if there are four categories, create four groups). The process involves three rounds of discussion and refinement in a World Café set-up:

Round 1 (15-20 minutes): Each group uses the sticky notes from the brainstorming session to create detailed descriptions for their assigned category. They define the criteria for assessment based on three performance levels: “above expectations,” “meets expectations,” and “below expectations.” Groups should write these descriptions in three boxes using keywords to differentiate between the three levels.

Round 2 (15 minutes): One student stays as the group’s representative, while the rest move to the next table/category. The representative explains the group’s work to the new group. The new group reviews the descriptions, discusses them, and suggests improvements. After 15 minutes, they move again, leaving a new representative behind to brief the next group.

Round 3 (10 minutes): The final group reviews the work from the previous group, refines the descriptions, and makes the final adjustments. This round ensures the descriptions are clear, consistent and agreed upon by all students.

Tip: during the discussions, students can consider the following questions:

Is the description comprehensible?
Are the most important aspects included in the valuation criteria as formulated by the previous group?
Are there important aspects missing?
How can the text be refined and/ or reformulated?

4.Rubric Finalisation

35 mins

To prepare for this session, compile the outcomes of Step 3 into a draft rubric. Include clear definitions for each category, the criteria with assigned performance levels, and detailed descriptions. Ensure the draft is organised and ready for presentation.

In class, share the draft rubric with the class and facilitate a structured discussion to review and refine it collaboratively.

Encourage all students to contribute feedback, ensuring diverse perspectives are considered. Allocate time to review each category thoroughly.

Aim for consensus, but be prepared to make final decisions if needed. Once the class approves the changes, finalise and present the completed rubric to the group.

Tip: composing the final rubric will take some work. We recommend doing this in between two sessions.

5.Assessment and Reflection

2 hrs

Before class, make sure you have assessed the students’ unconventional assignment using the rubric which was developed in co-creation. Additionally, each student self-assesses their work and evaluate the work of a peer using the same rubric.

Once the three assessments (self-assessment, peer assessment and teacher assessment) are completed, students compare the evaluations. They will then participate in a peer discussion to reflect on any contradictions or agreements among the assessments.

Encourage students to explore the following reflective questions during their peer discussion:

How did you feel about completing the unconventional assignment?
What was the impact of co-creating the rubric? Did this influence how you approached the assignment?
How did developing the rubric shape your learning experience with the assignment?
After comparing the three evaluations of your assignment, what skills and knowledge have you gained? What areas still need improvement?

Tip: encourage students to take detailed notes during the peer discussion, as these reflections can offer valuable insights for their critical reflection report.

Assess the student’s learning, focusing on their rubric creation and different assessments of the Unconventional Assignment. The reflection emphasises the critical thinking involved in both phases.

Purpose

Assessment as learning aims to strengthen the learning process and the development of metacognitive skills. It empowers students to direct their own learning and to become independent, critical self-assessors.

Roles

Self-assessment and peer assessment

Characteristics

Authentic and assessment with rubric

Materials

Critical reflection report and reflective questions for peer reflection

Download Critical reflection report

Download Reflective questions

The Unconventional assignment example (Step 1) and World Cafe Set-up (Step 3) can be downloaded below. The World Cafe is a versatile methodology for facilitating large group dialogues, structured around five key components:

Creating a welcoming, cafe-like setting;
Introducing the process and setting the context;
Conducting multiple rounds of small-group discussions with crafted questions;
Rotating participants to foster diverse interactions; and
Sharing insights with the larger group through visual documentation.

While the process is simple, being an experienced host can enhance the effectiveness of the World Cafe format, and various resources are available to support new hosts (The World Cafe, 2023).

Download Unconventional assignment example

Download World Café Set-up

Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (2022). Getting Started with Creative Assignments. Columbia University. Retrieved 29 July 2024.

Design principles. (2023, 23 mei). The World Cafe.

Estacio, E. V., & Karic, T. (2016). The World Café: An innovative method to facilitate reflections on internationalisation in higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 40(6), 731-745.

Lau, A. M. S. (2016). ‘Formative good, summative bad?’–A review of the dichotomy in assessment literature. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 40(4), 509-525

Lewis, D., Rodgers, D., & Woolcock, M. (2013). The projection of development: cinematic representation as a (nother) source of authoritative knowledge? The Journal of Development Studies, 49(3), 383–397.

Reddy, Y. M., & Andrade, H. (2010). A review of rubric use in higher education. Assessment & evaluation in higher education, 35(4), 435-448.

Stevens, D. D., & Levi, A. J. (2023). Introduction to rubrics: An assessment tool to save grading time, convey effective feedback, and promote student learning. Routledge.