Rubric for Observation Report Assignment - Observation Report: Students prepare a 5-6 page report based on an observation at the school site assigned as part of the collaborative action research project. More specific information about this assignment is distributed in class. Score: 50 points possible for this assignment. The scoring has two components: 1) the notes taken by the graduate student during the observation(s) [Observation criteria – 25 points]; 2) the completed Observation Report [Report Criteria – 25 points].
Observation criteria
Developing
Good
Excellent
Notes indicate behaviors of staff and students as they occurred naturally in the setting– 5 pts.
Notes lack specificity; are vague and general
Notes include at least a few specific instances of staff or student behavior as they occurred naturally in the setting
Notes include many instances of staff and student behavior as they occurred naturally in the setting
Notes indicate physical setting for school setting – 3 pts.
Notes have little or no mention of the setting in which school counseling takes place
Notes provide general description of the setting within which school counseling takes place
Notes provide rich description of setting within which school counseling takes place, including a high degree of specificity
Notes indicate counseling program activities observed– 3 pts.
Notes have little or no mention of school counseling activities at the site
Notes have some description of activities
Notes have detailed description of counseling program activities observed
Notes indicate informal interactions and unplanned activities – 3 pts.
Notes have no mention of informal interactions or unplanned activities observed
Notes mention at least one observed informal interaction or unplanned activity at the site
Notes have full description of at least one observed informal interaction or unplanned activity at the site including an observer reflection comment regarding the relationship between the informal interaction or unplanned activity and school counseling at the site
Points
1
Rubric for Observation Report Observation criteria
Developing
Good
Excellent
Notes reflect language of people at the site– 3 pts.
Notes provide little or no indication of “native language” of school counseling at the site
Notes provide at least one example of “native language” of school counseling at the site
Notes include multiple examples of “native language” of school counseling in use at the site
Notes reflect well-managed accounts – 3 pts.
Notes appear to reflect random acts of observation
Notes have a fairly clear organization, including keeping track of language, notations of who is doing what, who is speaking, and at least one verbatim record of an interaction
Notes have a clear organization, multiple examples of verbatim interactions, and distinctions between use of native language at the site and the observers reflections on what she or he is seeing and hearing during the observation
Overall quality of notes – 5pts.
Notes are generally very brief and lack concrete examples of interactions at the site
Notes are fairly well organized, include at least a few examples of actual interactions at the site, and include at least some reflection by the observer regarding themes being observed, lessons learned while observing, the method being used, reflection on the observer’s frame of mind , reflections on ethical dilemmas or conflicts, and/or points of clarification
Notes are very well organized, include detailed examples of actual interactions at the site, and include reflections by the observer regarding themes being observed, lessons learned while observing, the method being used, reflection on the observer’s frame of mind , reflections on ethical dilemmas or conflicts, and/or points of clarification
Points
2
Rubric for Observation Report Observation criteria
Developing
Good
Excellent
Does report contain all the required elements? – 5 points
Report does not contain all the required elements included in the assignment description
Report contains all the required elements with one or two elements clearly not well developed
Report contains all the required elements and each element is well developed
Description of the setting for the project – 5 pts.
Report contains a very limited description of the setting
Report contains a clear description of the setting
Report contains a clear and very well-written description of the setting
Summary of the observations – 5 pts.
Report provides very limited summary of the observation
Report contains a full summary of the observation
Report contains a full summary of the observation based on clear identification of main points that came from the observation experience and a clear link between the data of the observation and the points made in summary
Discussion of how observation(s) might relate to the project – 4 pts.
Report includes highly inaccurate and/or overly speculative ideas regarding the observation and how what was observed might relate to the project
Report includes an accurate discussion, within the boundaries of the current stage of the action research work, regarding what was observed and how this observation might relate to the future of the project
Overall quality of the report as a graduate school written product – 6 pts.
Written product contains numerous mechanical/grammatical errors that interfere with full understanding of the student’s ideas or that fall below accepted standards of professional report writing
Written product contains few (3-4) mechanical/grammatical errors and meets the standards for professional report writing
Points
Report Criteria
Written product contains very few (1-2) mechanical/grammatical errors and meets or exceeds the standards for professional report writing
3