Engaging Students in STEM: Notebook Rubrics

When using STEM Notebooks, it’s a good idea to have a rubric for students so that they know and understand the expectations for their notebooks.  Whether you choose a general rubric or a more detailed one will depend on what grade level you teach.  It will also depend on how structured you want to make the notebooks,

It’s much easier to create or use a general STEM Notebook rubric since it doesn’t need multiple categories. It lists the basic expectations that their notebooks need to meet, thus making them easier and faster to grade.  This type of rubric is ideal if you’re new at using STEM notebooks or if your students are not used to using rubrics.

A detailed STEM Notebook rubric is much more specific since each element is divided out and assessed on its own (rather than the one above where everything is lumped into one general category).  This rubric definitely takes more time to grade, but shows students exactly what areas they need to address.   It is also more precise in determining a grade since assessing each category makes it less subjective.  This type of rubric is ideal if you (and your students) are experienced with using rubrics.

Both of these rubrics share common elements and are designed for students to glue them into their STEM Notebooks. They each also compliment each other so that teachers have the ability to start with the general rubric and move to the more detailed rubric as as students become more familiar with the rubric expectations.

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