Learn More about Rubrics with Ty Shepfer

Still grading and providing feedback on paper? You might not realize that tools in CarmenCanvas like Rubrics and SpeedGrader provide a simple alternative to hand-written comments on student work. If you assign papers, in-person presentations or essay questions on tests, you can still use these digital tools to simplify and streamline your grading, even written feedback.

Senior Lecturer, Ty Shepfer, walks you through setting up your own rubric, and he highlights the benefits of using the tool within the Canvas platform. Ty also shares what he learned from piloting the rubric tool in sections of his class at the Fisher College of Business.

Rubrics make grading easier for you, but are also a hit among students, according to Ty. “Overall the response has been very positive. They like getting their feedback electronically, especially if they’re getting it back more quickly.”  

Ty also advises instructors new to rubrics to start small, but be prepared for the big possibilities the tool provides. Ty has personally been able to use data from rubrics across course sections to improve the learning experience for his students.

He said “Using rubrics from section to section, I can look within the criteria of the rubric and see for a specific category how my students are doing. This shows me what information I might need to hit a little bit harder in lecture, and what topics I don’t need to spend as much time on since students are getting them down well.”