Promoting educational work using modern educational assessment tools: Creating and implementing rubrics for assessing projects and the cultivation of 21st-century skills

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to highlight the effectiveness of the use of rubric as a modern technique for teaching and assessing educational work. More specifically, our purpose is to explore the benefits of the implementation of the rubric for the project assessment in comparison with other traditional assessment techniques as far as the development of skills and the improvement of the educational work is concerned. The analytical rubric that was created and employed in the study included the following criteria (each with pre-determined quality levels): content completeness, structure and organisation, creativity, development of skills and cognitive concepts. This processing tool automatically quantifies the gradient of the criteria and automatically completes the final descriptive evaluation. It has a modern pedagogical scientific approach and flexibility, which gives impetus to creative projects in school. Six teachers of a Greek high school in Athens participated in the study. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview. The nature of the study was qualitative. The results revealed that the rubric can replace any other traditional technique. The tool allowed the students to evaluate their efforts, thus allowing them to realise the usefulness of the rubric as a self-assessment tool. Moreover, by using the rubric the students and the teachers had the chance to communicate constructively. The teachers and the students assessed the rubric in a positive way as the students were led to self-assessment processes through reflection and feedback and the development of cognitive and metacognitive skills.

Keywords: Authentic assessment project, rubric, assessment criteria, reflection, 21st-century skills.