A case study of teachers' and students' perceptions towards rubrics as learning tools in an intensive English oral communication skills course

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the multifaceted purpose of rubrics as formative assessment and learning tools in the oral communication and speaking skill. The exploratory case study qualitatively investigated student and teacher perceptions of using assessment rubrics as learning tools. It examined the affordances of the discussion and co-creation of oral presentation assessment criteria with students on their perception of using rubrics during the preparation of oral presentation tasks. The study took place in a private English-medium university in the north of Lebanon. The participants were the researcher, students and teachers of an Intensive English oral communication skills course. Individual interviews with the teachers and focus group interviews with students were used to collect data, in addition to observation notes taken by the researcher. Data analyses of the data gathered revealed positive perceptions in terms of involving students of an intensive English tertiary course in using rubrics as learning tools and in co-constructing rubric criteria.