Creating clear, effective rubrics is essential for guiding students and ensuring fair, transparent assessment. By using the 3Ps framework—Prep, Purpose, and Parameters—faculty can leverage AI tools to streamline rubric development while ensuring quality and alignment with learning goals. This guide introduces specific AI prompting techniques, each illustrated with practical tips and examples tailored for rubric creation.
Persona prompting instructs the AI to take on a specific role or identity (e.g., instructional designer, expert in assessment), often with defined knowledge, tone, and values. This approach shapes responses to align with the goals and nuances associated with that persona’s expertise.
Tip
Begin the rubric creation process by setting a persona that combines subject matter expertise and instructional design knowledge. This will guide the AI in adopting a tone and language appropriate for educational assessment and student engagement.
Example Prompt
“Pretend you’re an instructional designer with expertise in online learning and assessment. Design a rubric for assessing reflective writing in a graduate-level educational leadership course, outlining criteria and performance levels.”
When to Use this Prompt
Always start with persona prompting to ensure the AI’s output reflects best practices in instructional design and assessment, particularly for rubrics intended to communicate complex performance criteria or to support nuanced feedback.
Before creating rubric components, establish what a quality rubric entails to ensure the AI understands the standards it should meet. A quality rubric is clear, specific, inclusive, aligned with learning objectives, and offers constructive feedback across performance levels.
Tip
Begin by defining the qualities of an effective rubric, including clarity, inclusivity, and alignment with objectives, and ask the AI to ensure its output aligns with these qualities. You might also ask the AI to identify key characteristics of a good rubric for the specific assignment or context.
Example Prompts
What qualities make a rubric clear and effective? Use these qualities as guidelines to ensure that each performance level and criterion aligns with learning goals and provides constructive feedback.
Based on the task of assessing collaborative skills, what characteristics would you recommend for a quality rubric that supports clear, actionable feedback?
When to Use this Prompt
At the start of the rubric design process, especially before moving to specific criteria, to set a high standard for rubric quality.
Clear and specific instructions direct the AI’s focus to desired criteria, performance levels, or language, ensuring the output is relevant and aligned with expectations.
Tip
Define the scope of the rubric clearly, specifying the criteria, performance levels, and purpose to keep it organized and purposeful.
If the assignment allows for different submission formats (e.g., written, audio, or video), prompt the AI to ensure that the rubric’s language accommodates these formats without limiting to one medium.
Ensure each criterion addresses a single, distinct skill or attribute. For example, avoid merging grammar with citations in a single criterion. Instead, place grammar and conventions under a Mechanics category and citations under Support or Evidence. Ask the AI to check for combined variables and recommend separation if needed.
Example Prompt
Create a rubric to assess peer engagement and depth of analysis in online discussions, with clear distinctions between Exemplary, Proficient, Developing, and Unsatisfactory levels.
Design this rubric to work for both written and audio submissions, ensuring that criteria focus on clarity and content rather than format-specific details.
Review each criterion to confirm that characteristics are not combined inappropriately. For instance, check that ‘grammar’ is separate from ‘citations’ and that both are placed in appropriate categories.
When to Use this Prompt
Use specific instructions and separation guidance right after setting the persona to establish clear goals and scope, particularly useful for rubrics requiring detailed criteria differentiation.
Constraint-based prompting restricts the AI’s scope by setting boundaries on length, complexity, or specific criteria, keeping the output focused and relevant.
Tip
Limit the AI’s focus by specifying rubric length, complexity, or number of criteria to ensure conciseness and clarity, especially when space is limited, or concise feedback is desired. Limit placing specific point values, particularly if you intend to use the output as a template/repurpose it.
Example Prompt
Generate a concise rubric with three performance levels focused on critical thinking and synthesis in a one-page reflective essay.
When to Use this Prompt
Use constraint-based prompting when the rubric needs to be brief or focused on a few critical skills, such as for short assignments or introductory-level courses.
Role-specific prompting instructs the AI to adopt the viewpoint of a particular user or learner profile, ensuring the output is accessible and inclusive for diverse perspectives.
Tip
Prompt the AI to evaluate rubric accessibility by imagining itself as a student with specific challenges, revealing areas to simplify or clarify.
Example Prompt
Assume the perspective of a non-native English speaker reviewing this rubric. What language might be confusing, and how could we make it more accessible?
When to Use this Prompt
You might find using role-specific prompting useful midway or near the end of rubric design to ensure inclusivity, especially for rubrics aimed at a diverse or multi-background audience.
One-shot and two-shot prompting help clarify the AI’s understanding by providing one or two examples to illustrate the expected format, tone, or level of detail. One-shot prompting provides a single example to guide the AI, while two-shot prompting offers two contrasting examples to clarify nuanced differences.
Tip
Offer sample rubric criteria or performance levels to guide the AI in producing content that matches the desired structure and tone.
Example Prompt
Here’s an example of a ‘Proficient’ level in a rubric assessing critical thinking: ‘Identifies key ideas with relevant supporting details but may lack depth.’ Use this format to create additional performance levels.
When to Use this Prompt
Use one-shot and two-shot prompting early in the rubric design process or when you need the AI to match a specific tone, format, or detail level, especially helpful for aligning with established standards or replicating a familiar rubric structure.
Summarization-based prompting refers to directing the AI to provide a brief overview, creating a high-level view before delving into specific details. This can be helpful to ensure the AI has a strong grasp of the task.
Tip
Request an initial summary of possible rubric categories to visualize and compare structural options before proceeding.
If you are working with an AI which you do not want to enter your own content/intellectual property, you can summarize the assessment, paraphrasing key items like objectives to help the AI craft a rubric.
Example Prompt
Provide an overview of possible criteria for a rubric assessing collaborative skills, including participation, communication, and adaptability.
When to Use this Prompt
Use summarization early in rubric design to brainstorm or visualize possible criteria, especially helpful for creating an initial structure before finalizing details.
Rubrics serve different assessment purposes, from evaluating students’ static knowledge to encouraging growth and development. Establishing this purpose helps AI shape rubric language and criteria to either assess final outcomes (summative) or support developmental progress (formative).
Tip
Clarify if the rubric’s purpose is summative or formative. For summative assessments, focus on evaluating mastery, while for growth-oriented rubrics, emphasize language that guides student improvement over time.
Example Prompt
This rubric is for a growth-oriented assessment. Use language and criteria that encourage student development and improvement across performance levels.
When to Use this Prompt
Early in rubric development, particularly when determining the overall tone and structure, to ensure alignment with learning goals and the assessment’s purpose.
Self-interrogative prompting encourages the AI to restate the task or ask clarifying questions, improving alignment with intended goals.
Tip
Prompt the AI to clarify its understanding of the rubric’s purpose, confirming it aligns with instructional goals.
Example Prompt
How do you interpret the task of creating a rubric to assess peer engagement in discussions? Is there additional information you need to align with course goals?
When to Use this Prompt
Use self-interrogative prompting after the AI summarizes possible criteria or before you send the comprehensive initial prompt content; it can be especially helpful for complex or unique assessment tasks where clarity is essential.
Positive reinforcement prompting motivates the AI by emphasizing the value of high-quality output and positive outcomes.
Tip
Remind the AI of the rubric’s role in enhancing student understanding, emphasizing clarity and student support in language and structure.
Example Prompt
Create a rubric that supports student understanding, providing clear feedback to build confidence and improve learning outcomes. Your attention to detail here contributes to a positive learning experience.
When to Use this Prompt
Use positive reinforcement prompting when designing rubrics for tasks where constructive feedback is critical for student confidence, such as for new or complex skills.
Chain-of-thought prompting breaks down tasks into logical steps, helping the AI create responses for complex, multi-step processes. It can also involve asking the rubric to provide a chain of thought of its work to understand how it arrived at the outputs and quickly identify opportunities to clarify.
Tip
Use this technique to build detailed rubrics for multifaceted assignments like group projects, guiding the AI to define each part explicitly.
Example Prompt
Step-by-step, outline the criteria for evaluating collaboration in a group project, covering participation, respect, and adaptability.
Provide a step-by-step simple list of your considerations as you crafted this rubric.
When to Use this Prompt
Use chain-of-thought prompting when creating rubrics for assignments with multiple distinct criteria, like group projects or presentations requiring detailed breakdowns.
Iterative prompting refines responses through repeated rounds, gradually improving clarity and alignment.
Tip
Request that the AI refine distinctions between performance levels by adding clarity and frequency words for more precise expectations. Often, when reviewed closely, many rubrics fail to provide a clear description of the characteristics between performance levels; prompt AI to correct for this if it’s an issue.
Example Prompt
Refine this rubric by making the distinctions between Proficient and Exemplary clearer. Use frequency words like ‘consistently’ and ‘occasionally’ to set specific performance expectations.
When to Use this Prompt
Use iterative prompting after the initial rubric draft, especially when clarity or specificity needs improvement in performance levels.
Self-prompting invites the AI to create its own prompt based on its understanding of the task, verifying alignment before generating output.
Tip
Ask the AI to generate a prompt for the rubric task, confirming its understanding of requirements and alignment with learning objectives.
Example Prompt
Write a prompt for a rubric that evaluates students’ ability to synthesize and apply evidence-based arguments in written responses.
When to Use this Prompt
Use self-prompting when beginning a new rubric or when confirming alignment in complex assessment tasks, ensuring the AI’s interpretation matches instructional goals.
Template-based prompting involves guiding the AI to create a reusable framework or template for responses based on specified variables. This technique supports faculty by generating consistent feedback templates that can be customized at different performance levels within rubric criteria.
Tip
Prompt the AI to develop sample feedback language for each performance level, providing a foundation for consistency while leaving space for personalized comments. Additionally, prompt AI to include relevant support resources to enhance feedback and aid student development.
Example Prompt
For each performance level in this rubric, generate sample feedback language that instructors can use as a foundation, and include a section for instructors to add individualized feedback based on student performance. Include links or references to resources that could help students improve.
When to Use this Prompt
Use template-based prompting after rubric creation, particularly when preparing feedback guides that help faculty maintain consistency across performance levels but allow for personalization.
Conclusion
By following this guide and using the **3Ps of quality prompting—Prep, Purpose, and Parameters—**faculty can leverage AI to create thoughtful, clear, and aligned rubrics. Starting with persona prompts and working through each strategy in sequence helps ensure that the rubric reflects assessment best practices and is also tailored to students’ needs.
Leveraging the subject matter expert (SME) role within the AI is essential for ensuring outputs are contextually accurate and aligned with learning objectives. Additionally, while AI can greatly support rubric creation, it’s crucial for faculty to review and customize these outputs, tailoring them to the unique needs of their students and the specifics of their course. Experimenting with these techniques can refine rubric quality and support effective, transparent assessment in any educational setting.
