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BACKGROUND/CONTEXT

Traditionally, decisions about assessment processes in higher education have been the domain of the lecturer or the course designer. However, university educators have been challenged to partner with students in the early stages of assessment design (Boud & Molloy, 2013). By engaging students in a collaborative process with their university teachers to prepare and create assessment guidelines and rubrics, there is a greater potential for students to take ownership of and be accountable for their own learning.

THE INITIATIVE/PRACTICE

The aim of the research project was to investigate the innovative and collaborative use of assessment rubrics, in partnership between students and academic staff, in order to develop a model of collaborative rubric practice for application in higher education contexts which includes guidelines on rubric co-construction processes that engage both students and teachers.

The project was conducted across six cohorts of undergraduate students in three higher education institutions and their teachers from five different disciplines and degree levels. The varied contexts provided a range of settings, each of which represented multiple cases to explore across multiple sites.

METHOD(S) OF EVALUATIVE DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

The project approach adopted a four-phase, mixed-method design across a two-year period, which included a systematic literature review, use of the Delphi technique and multi-site case studies. Students and teachers provided feedback about rubric co-construction processes via questionnaires, interviews and focus groups.

ISSUES REGARDING RUBRIC CO-CONSTRUCTION

The teaching-learning partnership established by the rubric co-construction initiative may present some challenges and changes to traditional assessment processes, especially in relation to issues such as pre-semester planning of course documentation, sharing the responsibility of assessment design between teachers and students and negotiating with groups of students about assessment and rubric design. Because rubric co-construction does represent a change in the way assessment rubrics are typically designed, the practical ramifications of this collaborative example of curriculum design may introduce institutional challenges that need consideration. However, the initiative also presents opportunities for developing a shared understanding by teachers and students about the purpose of assessment and the quality of learning in higher education.

INTENDED OUTCOME

By the end of this Showcase presentation, the participants will be familiar with a set of research-informed recommendations to engage students and academic staff in the collaborative process of designing and using assessment rubrics to promote learning. Participants will also be provided with details of how to access the project’s website, Owning the rubric, which includes the Model of Collaborative Rubric Construction and Use.

The paper first offers a brief overview of some key concepts of Native Title, inclusive of key dates and events significant to the current native title issues in Australia. It then proffers a new perspective concerning three key issues relevant to the nexus between Christianity and Indigenous spiritualities, namely (a) the importance of place, (b) reconcilitation, and (c) the judgment.

An alternative approach for the development of curricula has been formulated and used as an adjunct to the curriculum planning process. This project evolved from a perceived dichotomy existing between the actual educational needs of post-registration nursing students and that of the focus of curricula, planned for them. In the course of this inquiry, the particular attributes of post-registration nursing students were delineated, the postulations supporting a person-oriented theory were established and the major concepts of a person-oriented point of view were used to evaluate the philosophical nature of the elements of selected curricula. The major part of this inquiry consisted of an investigation into the philosophical nature of post-registration nursing curricula, in an endeavour to establish the existence or nonexistence of a person-oriented approach to curriculum construction. The findings of this inquiry suggest that planners of post-registration programmes in nursing do use this approach in curriculum development. However, it was found that in some instances there were marked inconsistencies. Planners sometimes expressed the person-oriented ideas in their philosophical statements, subsequently failed to follow these concepts consistently and fully. This project justified the use of a matrix tool for the cross-linking of person-oriented theoretical concepts, with traditional curriculum elements. The findings of this analytical study support a person-oriented approach to the development of post-registration nursing programmes, such as a Bachelors Degree in Nursing.

The use of assessment rubrics in the higher education sector is now widespread in a number of disciplines. Typically, these rubrics are constructed by teachers who also tend to be the main users of the rubrics throughout the grading process. In recent years, questions have been raised about this teacher-directed approach and some educators have begun to explore an alternate approach to rubric construction; that is, engaging students in collaboration with their teachers to co-construct assessment rubrics. This paper outlines the processes employed in a project that investigated the co-construction of rubrics within six different contexts. The project aimed to engage students in collaboration with their teachers to co-construct rubrics which are co-owned by teacher and student. A mixed methods approach was utilized to explore the effectiveness of the strategy. Questionnaires, interviews and focus groups were utilized to gather data from both the teacher-participants and student-participants regarding their experiences of being involved in the study. Findings are presented from the perspectives of both students and teachers, relating their views of rubrics and the activity of rubric co-construction. The paper concludes with recommendations for practical approaches to rubric co-construction and future research directions.

This paper was initially prepared for the Dialogue on Design Conference, Avondale College, June 9 and 10, 2006.

George Abbott, physician and author, was the first dean of what became the School of Medicine at Loma Linda University and served for more than three decades in the roles of medical director and surgeon at leading Adventist sanitariums. Dr. Cora Richards Abbott, an obstetrician, engaged in medical ministry in tandem with her husband.

Malcolm Edwin Abbott was the superintendent of the Seventh-day Adventist Mission in New Guinea when he was taken as a civilian internee during World War II in Rabaul, New Guinea, and subsequently lost his life at the age of 33. His wife, Una Frances “Fran” Sprengel, served at the Sydney Adventist Hospital from 1944 until 1971.

The ACA Health Benefits Fund is a fund into which church employees and local church officers can contribute so that it can assist with the payment of medical costs accrued by insured individuals.

George Adair provided 37 years of sound management in Sanitarium Health Food Company and Sydney Sanitarium and Hospital in the Australasian Union Conference, ensuring the viability of these institutions in both the depression and the years of World War II.

Reginald “Reg” and Leila Adair served the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia, at the General Conference headquarters, and in the Far East, specifically the China Division during the time of the Communist takeover.

Richard and Miriam Adams commenced their married lives as early missionaries on Pitcairn Island. After five years on Pitcairn they spent nine years in self-supporting medical ministry on Norfolk Island

The Adelaide Electro-Hydropathic Institute and Sanitarium was opened in July 1899, the brainchild of Alfred Semmens. It existed for ten years as a struggling institution until it was superseded by the Adelaide Sanitarium which was opened at another site in 1908.

Prior to the establishment of the Adopt-A-Clinic project, John Morris, a Seventh-day Adventist layman, initiated a program to give basic medical kits to Fijian clinics. The enterprise functioned from 1992 through 1996, and he made arrangements to restart the service in 2002, a concept germane to the later Adopt-A-Clinic program.

The administrative structure of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) comprises three levels: ADRA International (ADRA I) headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A., seven regional offices covering most of the world, and some 130 country offices.

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Australia (ADRA/A) was established in Australia in 1978 to provide assistance to people in the South Pacific region. Initially referred to as the Seventh-day Adventist World Service in Australia (SAWS/A), the fledgling organisation was attached to the Australasian Division of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church and operated as a branch of the global SAWS organization with headquarters in Washington D. C.

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency New Zealand (ADRA NZ) is the official humanitarian non-government organization (NGO) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in New Zealand.

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) office of the Solomon Islands began its work during the late 1980s. Initially, the goal of ADRA Solomon Islands was to provide relief support to the people of the Solomon Islands, many of whom faced continuing climate crises and natural disasters. This mission expanded to include health education, peace initiatives, and small business support as the office gained local credibility and experience.

Herbert William Adrian served as secretary and treasurer for the Tasmanian Conference and the Fiji Mission.

AdSAFE is an entity established to address domestic violence and sexual abuse within the Seventh-day Adventist church community in Australasia. Its mandate includes providing information and resources concerning the various forms of abuse, training employees and church members to combat abuse, supporting victims of abuse, investigating allegations of abuse, and cooperating with law enforcement authorities in cases of abuse that appear in the civil courts.

Correspondence courses were available through the Church in the South Pacific between 1925 and the mid-1990s. These courses were delivered by a number of means including the Fireside Correspondence School and the Advent Correspondence School.