Cycle 2 Adding a Rubric to the Screencast: 7 Respondents ACTION TAKEN: I added a rubric to the video feedback method from

m the first cycle in order to provide more detailed feedback. The rubric was created and shown in Adobe Illustrator at both the beginning and end of the assessment video in order to work as an introduction and conclusion to the feedback. Also, by ending the video with the rubric the student could take a moment to study the categories while I was not talking. The remainder of the screencasting method was the same. RESEARCH QUESTION: How will using a multimodal approach paired with traditional rubrics given after the assignment affect student-learning outcomes, as evaluated by the students? PREDICTED OUTCOME: This cycle of research built upon my previous cycle of video screencasting to provide detailed feedback to students. This cycle was modified to include a rubric in order to provide specific feedback to the students and quantifiable grading in the assessment. My literature review lead me to believe that adding this evaluative aspect to my feedback would help the students gain a more in-depth understanding of their performance and lessen the stigma of my opinion. EVIDENCE USED TO EVALUATE THE ACTION: The evidence used to evaluate the actions at the end of this cycle was a survey with the following questions: 1. Having received feedback for the second time, how do you feel about it? 2. Does the rubric help your understanding by providing more specific feedback? 3. Please provide your specific thoughts on the addition of the rubric. Possible questions you could address are: Is it helpful, does it provide more specific details, does it give you more direction to work from? Or, is it harmful to your understanding, does it make things more confusing? Do rubrics belong in art class? 4. Would it help to provide the rubric when the assignment is introduce? (So you would know what is expected before the assignment is turned in.) 5. What, if anything, can be done to help give you a better understanding of the techniques the professional photographer used in his work, and then use those techniques in your own photographs/editing. 6. Talking about your work during class can be challenging. Do you have any suggestions on things that would help you talk about your work during out in-class critiques? EVALUATION: Survey Monkey was used as a tool to collect student feedback because it allowed the students to respond anonymously. I hoped this anonymity would lead to more honest student feedback because the responses would not be tied to the students who wrote them.

The students continued to provide only positive responses towards screencasting. This was an encouraging sign because my research is predicated on the belief that video feedback will be more useful than more traditional means. This being the second time that the students have received video feedback should lessen the degree of newness, and hopefully indicated that the students really do prefer this method. The possibility of responder bias still exists, but hopefully that too is lessened because the students have now completed two cycles of survey questions. The question asking if rubric is helpful also garnered 70% positive feedback, indicating that is was a beneficial, however, 29% of the respondents who did not believe it made a difference (Figure 2.1.) There were no negative responses in the evaluation of the rubric. This was a sign the rubrics are helpful, or at the very least, not harmful in their understanding of the feedback.

Does the rubric help your understanding?

0% 0% 14% 29%

Yes, it is much more helpful to my understanding of the feedback Yes, it is a little more helpful to my understanding of the feedback It makes no difference

No, it is harmful to my understanding of the feedback

57%

No, it is very harmful to my understanding of the feedback

Figure 2.1. Does the Rubric help your understanding by providing more specific feedback? When asked if receiving the rubric first would be helpful in understanding the goals of the project, all but one of the students agreed that it would be of beneficial. This response was aligned with my previous belief that being given the rubric ahead of time would be the best way to proceed. Question 5 asked if they could think of anything that would help them to gain a better understanding of photographic techniques. All but one of the responses was

either no or I dont know. The one outlier was a requested for more direction on how to take the images. It is challenging to discern the weight of this lone response since this is the only time it has been mentioned. In my curriculum I strive to find a balance between instruction and critical thinking. If too much instruction is provided it replaces critical thinking, however if a lack of instruction exists then the students unable able to make connections on their own. Responses such as this one need to be carefully monitored to ensure that the balance is being met. This lone response is troubling and will need to be reflected upon further. In the final question asked what could help improve speaking during class, one student suggested different approaches to in-class critiques. This idea will be addressed in my fourth cycle of research when I will have the students use Voicethreads.com to present and critique photographs. REFLECTION: Adobe Bridge and Photoshop are a good way to look at the entire portfolio and specific images. Snapz Pro X continues to be easy to work with, and powerful in its ability to change the frame rate and screen size. A non sequitur in this data existed when the students were asked to write out their feelings about the rubric. This question was given to make the students think more fully about their responses (Figure 2.2.) Among the neutral and positive responses, one student was adamantly against giving artwork a grade, stating that it is completely defeating the purpose of an elective art course. This response has validity at the middle school level where learning is supposed to be about self-expression, and art classes should be relaxing in comparison to their core courses. It was possible that this student may also have not wanted to be graded in another class. This made it challenging to decide what in this comment was valid. Since the majority of the responses were neutral to good, I decided to continue to approach this in a way that helped the majority of students. I will create more rubric-centered questions on the next round of survey monkey questions in order to better determine how to improve my rubric.

General feelings towards the use of a rubic?

13%

Positive
25% 50%

Negative Confusing Neutral

12%

Figure 2.2. Please provide your specific thoughts on the addition of the rubric. Possible questions you could address are: Is it helpful, does it provide more specific details, does it give you more direction to work from? Or, is it harmful to your understanding, does it make things more confusing? Do rubrics belong in art class?

Some students believed having the rubric first had merit. I personally believed that familiarity with the rubric will be helpful to students because it will aligned our expectations on the process. It also helped the students generate goals for the project because they knew what was expected of them. Therefore I decided to continue giving the rubric at the beginning of the assignment. It was challenging to weigh the lone response asking for more direction while creating photographs. Middle School photography does not cover the use of manual camera controls nor manual flashes, so neither offers an opportunity for further lessons. There is room in the first part of the class to accommodate more direction on how to compose an image, and that may need to be looked into as an option. An alternative outlook on the issue is the line between challenging students to think on their own and doing the work for them. If they are directly shown how to photography objects similar to the artist theyre studying I may be doing much of their thinking for them. To effectively respond to this concern I believed that I needed to find some camera composition work to improve their photography. Having taught visual arts for ten years I expected that students would find speaking about their work to be challenging, and I was not surprised to see responses indicating a desire to avoid presenting. Middle school students tend to become

embarrassed when speaking in front of their peers. Our in-class critiques were no difference because each portfolio review began with students explaining their work and providing other relevant information. In anticipating this reaction I planned for an alternate style of presentation in my fourth cycle. This cycle had fewer video recording issues with my increased familiarity with the process. This experience has allowed me to describe students work more easily and provide more information because I did not have to worry about technical challenges. I do have a problem with finding a quiet place to record because my classroom is next to the cafeteria. This is a challenge with video feedback, and something that must be taken into consideration before utilizing it in education. I plan to speak with my principal about suggestions for other places to record. Moving forward I will present the rubrics to the students at the beginning of the assignment so they have knowledge of what I expect from them. Hopefully receiving the rubric beforehand will also help the students to generate their own goals for the project and improve the overall quality of their work because of this increased level of investment. Average recording time: 2 minutes