Reflective Rubrics in Google Classroom

Recently I was helping a group of high school teachers get started with Google Classroom. One of the participants asked about an easy way to fill out scoring guides when using Google Classroom. When she asked that, I thought for a few seconds and showed her how to add her scoring guide as an attachment in a Google Classroom assignment. She was happy with that solution, so for the time being, I moved on to the next question.  The more I thought about it, though,  I realized that  while this was a great way to substitute technology for paper and make grading a more efficient process, that we could modify the activity and work flow to get students to engage with their work 

and the teacher on a deeper level. ​ I went back to my office, looked at the rubric that teacher shared with me and modified it by adding a column for self-assessment and a row for student comments. Those two small modification transformed this ordinary rubric into a reflective tool that can be used to springboard conversations about student work between the student and teacher. 

How to make it happen

Create a Rubric

The first thing I did was open a new Google Sheet and re-create the rubric that this teacher was using. On the spreadsheet, I added a column on the right for a student to self-assess. I also added a row at the bottom of the scoring guide for the student to explain their thinking behind the scores they assigned. Then, I added a little math to automatically total both the student's and teacher's scores. 

​Assign to Students

When the assignment is ready to go, head over to Google Classroom and create a new assignment. Assign the scoring guide as Make a Copy for Each Student to ensure that each student gets their own editable copy of the document. As students complete their work, they are able to fill out their side of the scoring guide prior to submitting ​the assignment in Google Classroom.  

See the Process in Action

​Remember: even if the assigned project doesn't have a digital component, this scoring guide can still be assigned for students to complete as they reflect on their work!

​This simple twist on the common educational practice of distributing rubrics is a great example of how educators can use the Google tools they are already familiar with to modify learning activities for students. Don't forget: sometimes it's a small tweak to a tool or activity that you are already using that will generate the most powerful learning opportunities for your students. 

How do you give students an opportunity to reflect on their learning? Sound off in the comments below!