Making the case for alternative assessment: A writing-based rubric for self-reflection and improved learning

In the global STEM professional arena, the ability to communicate, both orally and in writing, is a skillset demanded by employers. Unfortunately, typical academic exercises that involve written and oral communication are often just that ... academic exercises. To provide a more authentic and robust experience, a student conference activity has been developed for use in a second-level physics course entitled Physics for a New Millennium (PNM) at American University (AU). This conference paper activity involves writing a formal research paper using professional guidelines. Students then present their papers at a class conference held at the end of the semester. The primary focus of the research paper is to allow students to synthesize a subset of the physics topics that are being studied in class. The secondary focus of the research paper is to make a solid connection between physics and its connection to the overall paper topic. For example, in an earlier semester, one student, with a major in sociology and a minor in applied physics, wrote a paper on the physics associated with the cochlear implant and its impact on the deaf community. A topic such as this allows students the opportunity to connect the physics being studied in class to something that directly relates to their major course of study. Being able to make this type of connection is invaluable to the students and provides the instructor with a unique opportunity to assess their understanding. The research paper and conference presentation take the place of a traditional final exam. Unlike a traditional final exam, the research paper activity provides for multiple points of assessment of student learning. A traditional final exam merely provides a data point regarding student learning after the learning has actually taken place. In fact, most exams do not provide students with an opportunity to correct flaws in their reasoning and make adjustments to their current understanding. The non-traditional research paper activity, however, provides for multiple opportunities to correct one's understanding of key physics concepts and to utilize this adjusted understanding in the next phase of the paper-writing process. To illustrate, students must submit an abstract, as well as a first, second, and final draft of their papers. At each juncture, a carefully crafted rubric is utilized to better capture student learning. This paper will focus on one such evaluative rubric and provide discussion regarding how it was utilized in terms of assessing students' understanding of key physics topics.