For schools who feel students will need support to complete the surveys and rubrics
Overview
As part of the piloting of the Culturally Responsive Schooling (CRS) Rubrics, we are asking participating students to complete three things:
- A very short individual student intake survey about student views of school. [~ 5 mins]
- 1 or 2 of the CRS rubrics, first as individuals, and second as a group or team. [~ 45 mins for each rubric pair]
- A short individual student exit survey that asks about their experience with the rubrics. [~ 10 mins]
All three of these can be completed online, so please make sure students have access to a device with internet.
To participate, each students’ parent/guardian must provide permission. Contact your school’s point person or Lizzy Pecora (lpecora@upenn.edu) if you have questions about which students have received permission.
Some students may be able to complete all of the individual parts without adult assistance. This guide is for schools that want an adult to facilitate students through the process.
Facilitation works best in groups of about 3-8 students. The general format will involve gathering the group, having students first individually complete the short intake survey, then complete the assigned individual rubric, and then work together to complete the team version of the same rubric as a group. Finally, complete the short exit survey.
For schools that have been asked to complete the "Welcoming and Affirming Environment" Rubric (both individual and team), the entire process should take about one hour. For schools whose students have been asked to complete both the "High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction" and the "Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment" rubrics (both individual and team), you will likely need two sessions (approximately 45 minutes for each session). Only after completing all the requested rubrics should students individually complete the short exit survey, where they can sign up to receive an Amazon gift card for their participation.
The composition of the groups of students may consist of students from one class or students from different homerooms, depending on what logistically makes sense for your school. We encourage the formation of groups that are as diverse as possible in terms of race, ethnicity, English learner status, gender, ability-level, etc.
For younger students (grades 4/5, or even 10/11 graders if you think it appropriate) a facilitator should be assigned to guide students through the process. This facilitator should be a school staff member who ideally is not the primary teacher for the students in the group, since some of the questions are about their class experiences.
Before administering each rubric to a group of students, read through it yourself to ensure your own understanding of what each item is asking. The individual and team rubrics are identical, but ask for either individual views or a group consensus of where students think their school/classes are overall. Consult the glossary if there is any confusion over terms or certain items. Be sure you also clearly understand the 9-point rating scale so that you can explain it to students.
Along with these guidelines, we encourage facilitators to use their own discretion to ensure students fully understand and complete the process. However, the facilitator should avoid leading students to certain answers (e.g. with phrases like “don’t you agree?” or “isn’t it true that...?”) so as to prevent bias in student responses.
All the links you need are on the Rubrics > For Students page of the website.
Guide
Step 1
Have students click on and complete the short intake survey.
Step 2
When students have completed the short intake survey have them click on the INDIVIDUAL form of the rubric you are completing with them.
Explain the purpose of the rubrics to students so they understand why they are completing this task [NOTE: italicized text indicates directions you can read to students].
(begin italics) Today we are looking at the cultural responsiveness of our school. Cultural responsiveness means including the different traditions, practices, and ideas of all of our cultures into our school experiences so that we all feel welcomed and supported. So both individually and together, you will rate different aspects of our school for its cultural responsiveness. This is a way for us to help improve our school. (end italics)
Step 3
Explain the structure of the rubric and rating scale, which follows a format of (a) guiding questions; (b) a progression of CRS engagement, and; (c) a 9-point rating scale. The place for notes is optional, but could be used if helpful.
(begin italics) This rubric may be similar to rubrics you may have used in your classes. Each row will describe a different topic you are rating. Above each item there are a few guiding questions to help you think about the topic. The rubric has four different options for each item so your job is to decide where you think our school falls, first from your own perspective and then from our perspective as a group. Even though there are four categories on the rubric (exploring, growing, utilizing, transforming), the rating scale is from 1-9, so you may decide we fall in between two descriptions. Let’s all look at the first one together. (end italics)
Walk through the first item together. Facilitator should read aloud the first guiding question(s). Then read through the four options below ‘exploring’, ‘growing’, ‘utilizing’, and ‘transforming’. Explain to the students how to choose a score on the 9-point scale and use the online tool to mark their answer.
(begin italics) You can think about the guiding questions to help you decide which description most closely matches where you think our school or your classes are. Move the dot on the scale to this description, either below it or in-between two options. (end italics)
Step 4
Complete the individual rubric and submit it. The individual rubric should be completed by each student based on their own individual opinions (i.e. facilitate the process, read the items for the students, and answer questions about clarity, but do not allow students to discuss the items with one another at this point). Students can save a copy of their completed rubric as a pdf or in a spreadsheet format after they submit it.
Step 5
Repeat Steps 2-4 for the TEAM version of the same rubric. The TEAM rubric includes the same topics, but you are asking students to discuss each item and decide together where they collectively think the school or their classes fall. So either you, or a selected student, should complete the team rubric for the group (i.e. only submit one TEAM rubric for the student group).
(begin italics) Now, lets go thru the same questions as a group. As we discuss, it is important that you are respectful of the ideas of everyone in our group as we listen to others share. It is also okay to change your mind on an item score from your individual scoring during our discussions. Remember, we are giving a rating for all of your combined experiences at our school and classes. (end italics)
For team completion, work through the rubric item by item as a group, either reading as a group or having students read independently based on the ability level of the group. Allow students to discuss each item for about two minutes. Monitor the discussion to keep students on task and respectful of each others’ opinions. Encourage all students to contribute to the discussion to ensure all perspectives are accounted for. When finished, either one appointed student or the facilitator should submit the completed TEAM rubric.
Step 6
ONLY IF you have been asked to complete both the "High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction" and "Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment" rubrics (both individual and team), then follow Steps 2-5 for the second rubric, starting with the individual rubric and then completing the TEAM rubric. You may want to do the second rubric and Step 7 in a separate session.
Step 7
Have students click on and complete the short exit survey. Here they can add their email address to receive an Amazon gift card as a thank you for their participation.
Questions?
Email Lizzy Pecora at lpecora@upenn.edu