Working with Rubrics
Whenever a complex skill such as doing a science demonstration is to be taught to people who will implement that skill, the instructor needs to communicate what the ideal demonstration looks like and how a presenter can improve toward that ideal. A RUBRIC is an effective means to accomplish these two goals efficiently. Rubrics have been called silent coaches, because they provide the same kind of detail about how to improve that coaches do.
A rubric is a table that indicates specific traits that apply to the skill being taught and the quality level of each trait. If this were a rubric for a customer service representative at a hardware store, the traits might be, 1) Politeness 2) Knowledge of products 3) Helpfulness. Here is a rubric for customer service representative.
Quality levels / NOT SO GOOD / OK / GOOD / EXCELLENTTraits
Politeness / Snippy, acting put out / Courteous, but brief. Tells customer how to find products in the store. / Engaged with visitor. Conversational. Interested in solving customer’s problem. / Shows a genuine concern for customers. Escorts them to aisle to show products.
Knowledge of products / Spotty and incorrect / Knows the products or directs customer to someone who knows about them. / Knows the products and can recommend which one is best for the customer’s project. / Seeks to understand customer needs and works with customer to select the right product.
Helpfulness / Conveys “get out of my face” attitude / Patient. Able to answer customer questions. / Supplies relevant extra information. / Draws customer out to get the information needed to find a solution.
Rubrics are very helpful tools for improving a skill because they summarize the traits that make up the performance of the skill. More importantly, they describe what each level of performance looks like. Armed with this tool, a person can review his or her own performance, make positive changes, and set goals for continued improvement. Rubrics can also be used in peer coaching, that is, getting a partner to observe a performer in action, then using the rubric to provide feedback.
Being a Museum Galaxy Guide is a complex task, requiring content knowledge, people skills, organization, and flexibility all at the same time. The purpose of using rubrics in Space Odyssey is to foster improvement of performance in giving demos and facilitating exhibits. Rubrics can serve this purpose by communicating expectations, clarifying what is meant, and conveying the idea that presenters can never really rest on their laurels, but should always strive to get better at being a Museum Galaxy Guide. The purpose is NOT to evaluate, measure, or rank performers.
By the way, the format of the rubric varies. Generally rubrics have four quality levels, though this number may be cut to two or three for space reasons. This is the case for rubrics in the Space Odyssey Training Manual.
General Rubric for Museum Galaxy Guides
QUALITY LEVELS / NOT READY TO BE A GALAXY GUIDE / OKFACILITATION / EXCELLENT
FACILITATION
TRAITS
Engagement strategy / Sits quietly out of the way, reading or doing crossword puzzles / Informs visitor of activities going on / Uses a natural approach to starting interaction and invites visitor to join and enjoy activities.
Rapport with visitors / Impersonal and aloof / Greets visitor / Greets visitor and asks friendly questions. Demonstrates a genuine concern for visitor having a good experience.
Enthusiasm/fun / Focussed on when the shift ends / Takes a pleasant tone and demeanor / Demonstrates a strong interest in SO experience. Animated, with good vocal inflection
Encourages explorations and fun
Engine that drives the conversation / Lectures the visitor and never asks a question / Asks leading questions / Draws visitor into asking questions. Facilitates an open inquiry; lets visitor take lead in asking questions
Pacing of conversation / Gives a stock “spiel” without paying any attention to the visitors’ interests / Keeps conversation from dragging / Keeps conversation moving. Observes visitor body language, goes at visitors’ pace
Knowledge of exhibit’s tools and props / Knows the parts that he or she likes, but doesn’t care to learn the rest of the exhibit / Demonstrates thorough knowledge of all parts of the Galaxy’s Guides’ track / Exhibits thorough knowledge of all parts and begins to innovate the use of them. Beyond thorough knowledge, discovers new ways to use these materials for extended inquiry
Knowledge & explanation of content / Strays from the training material into unverified speculation / Conducts demos with no factual errors / Exhibits thorough knowledge of all parts of this demo, and can extend the conversation into related areas
Brings in personal experience / Uses many personal anecdotes, relevant or not. Editorializes and makes frequent judgmental remarks / Responds to visitor questions when asked / Uses personal experience to enhance and enrich the human side of science
Sparks visitors’ curiosity / Shuts off visitors’ questions when they aren’t within the volunteer’s area of expertise / Directs visitor to digital collection or other staff with more knowledge / Asks stimulating questioning to engage the visitor at heightened level, even if the Galaxy Guide doesn’t know an answer: explores together with visitor. Understands content and explains on appropriate level. Opens news subjects for inquiry
Improves demo over time / Has one set way of doing the demo and never changes it / Discusses demo with peers and implements new techniques / Develops written goals and strives to meet these goals, eg, “Raise Knowledge of exhibit from OK to COOL by Sept.” or “Raise all OK’s to COOL by August”