This project investigates the impact of co-constructing leadership success criteria compared to instructor-generated criteria on student’s perceived ability levels and the grade.
The project aims to improve student leadership self-efficacy (individual's confidence in their ability to carry out necessary leadership behaviors, such as delegating, making decisions, and motivating others) within and outside of the classroom; recognize the value of multiple dimensions of leadership success criteria and explain the value of the co-constructing process; and engage more fully in course activities and their organizations in implementing change.
For the teaching team (instructor and TA), the project provides an opportunity to develop a shared understanding of success within rubrics; thus, preventing the mismatch of expectations and improving overall assignment and course effectiveness.
Pre-and-post questionnaires to assess students' and teaching team's views of rubrics and the co-construction process, a “What Makes Effective Rubrics” workshop alongside the co-construction process of a current assignment, as well as instructor interviews and student focus groups to gather explanations of processes used and how to modify the process in the future.
This project expanded students' understanding of the purpose of rubrics, moving the students' responses from seeing rubrics as a list of tasks they need to complete to ensure a good grade on an assignment (73%) to seeing rubrics as a helpful tool to align student-teacher expectations and to achieve learning goals (81%).
Through the co-construction process we developed a shared understanding of what constitutes leadership success criteria aligned with shared learning goals, identified what constitutes "above and beyond" in the requirements, improved overall task and course effectiveness, learned how students utilize success criteria, and discovered additional personal benefits to students' learning process (i.e. reflecting on their intentions with assignment, visualizing steps to succeed, fostering supportive learning environment).
USG Teaching and Learning Conference, 2024
