Inquiry Topic Assignment Rubric

Not Meeting
Expectations

Approaching Expectations

Meeting
Expectations

Exceeding
Expectations
You are very enthusiastic
about your project and take
initiative to work on it
outside of the class time
given.
Your use of language is
clear and detailed.

Enthusiasm and
Interest Level

You demonstrate little

interest in your project
and are often off task.

You demonstrate some

interest in your project but
are sometimes off task.

You usually demonstrate

interest and enthusiasm in
your project and are usually
on task.

Communicating

Your use of language is

often confusing and
does not make sense.

Your use of language is not

always clear. Some ideas do
not make sense.

Your use of language is clear

and makes sense.

You rely totally on a

single form of media to
communicate. (text,
videos, photos,
diagrams, drawings
etc.)

You rely mostly on one or

two forms of media to
communicate. (text, videos,
photos, diagrams, drawings
etc.)

You often use a variety of

media to communicate.
(text, videos, photos,
diagrams, drawings etc.)

You use a great variety of

media to communicate
including some which are
novel and unique
(animation, 3d modelling,
poetry, etc.)

Lack of neatness and

poor overall
organization makes
your projects difficult to
understand.
You are rarely creating
your own ideas and are
usually repeating ideas
found elsewhere.

Some lack of neatness or

poor overall organization
makes certain parts of your
project difficult to
understand.
You build on or combine
other peoples ideas to create
new things with guidance.

Your project is mostly neat

and logically organized.

Your project is extremely

neat and a lot of thought
has gone into appropriate
organization.

You get new ideas in areas

in which you have an
interest and learn new skills
or concepts to make them
work.

You develop ideas that are

new and unique. You
present creative ideas as a
way to express your
interests and passions.

You express your own

judgements or opinions
but they are not linked
to research or
evidence.

You use evidence to make

simple judgments.

You gather and combine

new evidence with what
you already know to
develop reasoned
conclusions, judgments, or
plans.

You examine evidence from

various perspectives to
analyze and make wellsupported judgments and
interpretations about
complex issues.

When encountering a
problem you are unable
to move forward.

You often get stuck and are

unable to move forward
without assistance from
others.

You often solve problems

on your own.

You independently try

many different problem
solving steps to move
forward when you are
stuck.

You require significant

prompting to get
started and to move
forward with your
work.

At times you require

prompting to get started or
to move forward with your
work.

You rarely need prompting

to get started or to move
forward with your work.

You are always able to

move forward with your
work without prompting.

Creative and
Critical Thinking

Self Directed
Learning

Project Based Learning: Blog Reflections

Student Objectives:
1. In your blog posts you will discuss what steps are next. You will make predictions about what you think the results of each
step will be.
2. In your blog you will discuss problems with your project and suggest ideas for improvements.
3. In your blog you will use scientific language related to your topic. You will explain your thoughts and ideas clearly with
adequate detail.
4. You will use a variety of photos, videos, diagrams and text in your blog posts.

Not Meeting
Expectations

Approaching
Expectations

Meeting
Expectations

Exceeding
Expectations

You make useful

observations that explain
what you have learned
from research, testing and
problem solving.

You make insightful,

detailed observations that
explain what you have
learned

Your writing is clear and

makes sense.

Your writing is clear and

detailed.

You always include photos,

diagrams or videos when
they can be used to more
better communicate your
ideas.

Observing

You do not talk about

what you have observed
or learned in your blog
posts.

Communicating

Your writing is often

confusing and does not
make sense.

You make basic

observations about how
your project is going. Your
explanations about what
you have learned lack
detail.
Your writing is not always
clear. Some ideas do not
make sense.

You rely totally on text

and do not use videos,
photos or diagrams.

You sometimes include

videos, diagrams or photos
but mostly rely on text.

You often use photos,

diagrams or videos to
better communicate your
ideas.

Frequent errors make

your ideas very difficult to
understand.

Several writing errors make

some of your ideas hard to
understand.

Your writing is often

confusing and does not
make sense.

Your writing is not always

clear. Some ideas do not
make sense.

You make occasional

writing errors but the
reader can still
understand what you
mean.
Your writing is clear and
makes sense.

You rely totally on text

and do not use videos,
photos or diagrams.

You sometimes include

videos, diagrams or photos
but mostly rely on text.

You often use photos,

diagrams or videos to
better communicate your
ideas.

Frequent errors make

your ideas very difficult to
understand.

Several writing errors make

some of your ideas hard to
understand.

You do not have a clear

plan about what steps to
take next.

You have a basic idea about

what steps you will try next
with your project.

You make occasional

writing errors but the
reader can still
understand what you
mean.
You describe what steps
you will take next with
your project.

Communicating

Looking Ahead

You occasionally discuss

You rarely make writing

errors.

Your writing is clear and

detailed.

You always include photos,

diagrams or videos when
they can be used to more
better communicate your
ideas.
You rarely make writing
errors.

You clearly describe what

steps you will take next
with your project with
great detail
When problems arise you

You do not mention of

problems with your
project or possible
solutions.

problems with your project.

You rarely make predictions
about what the outcome
will be.

When problems arise you

suggest one or two
possible solutions and
sometimes make
predictions about what
the outcome will be.

suggest many possible

solutions and make
predictions about what the
outcome will be.

Project Based Learning: Final Project Presentation

Student Objectives:
1. You will show enthusiasm and you will be knowledgeable about your project topic.
2. You will discuss the process involved with creating your project. You will talk about what you learned from research, from
prototyping and from testing your design.
3. You will talk about problems that came up and explain how you solved them.
4. You will explain your project and demonstrate how it works.

Not Meeting
Expectations

Approaching
Expectations

Learning and
Reflecting

You do not mention

anything about what you
learned.

You explain one or two

things that you learned but
make no mention of how
you learned.

You explain what you

learned and you discuss
what steps were needed
when you got stuck.

Communicating

You talk about your

project but have nothing
to show.

Your writing is not always

clear. Some ideas do not
make sense.

You are able to show a

completed project as part
of your presentation.

Your presentation does

not include photos or
videos.

Your presentation includes

one or two photos or
videos that show part of
project before it was
completed.

Your presentation
includes a few photos or
videos that show some
step of completing your
project.

Your presentation includes

several photos or videos
that show each step of
completing your project.

Your presentation
demonstrates very little
knowledge about your
project topic, most
information is incomplete
or inaccurate.

Your presentation
demonstrates some
knowledge about your
project topic but some
information is incomplete
or inaccurate.

Your presentation
demonstrates accurate
basic knowledge about
your project topic.

Your presentation
demonstrates expert
knowledge about your
project topic.

You are not able to

answer most questions
about your project.
You may have attempted
to start various projects
but you were not able to
see any through to
completion due to lack of
effort or focus.

You are able to answer a

few question about your
project topic in a basic way.
Your project could be
improved by doing more
research or testing or by
putting in more effort.

You confidently answer

most questions about
your project.
Your project shows
learning and effort.

You confidently answer all

questions about your
project.
Your project is impressive
and shows great learning
and effort.

Your project mostly follows

instructions found
elsewhere.

Your project follows

instructions created by
others but you have made
some effort to add unique
elements.

Your project may be based

on some instructions
created by others but you
have added many unique
elements that make it your
own.

Final Project
Result

Meeting
Expectations

Exceeding
Expectations
You explain how you
overcame many learning
challenges through
research, prototyping and
testing.
Your presentation includes
a live demonstration of
your project.

Core Competencies Assessed

Participation:

Demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal interest \
Collaboratively plan a range of investigation types, including field work and experiments, to answer their questions or solve
problems they have identified
Ensure that safety and ethical guidelines are followed in their investigations

Blog Reflections:
Make predictions about what the findings of their inquiry will be
Communicate ideas, findings, and solutions to problems using scientific language, representations, and digital technologies as
appropriate
Make observations aimed at identifying their own questions about the natural world-Identify possible sources of error and
suggest improvements to their investigation methods
Identify possible sources of error and suggest improvements to their investigation methods

Final Project Presentation:

Demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal interest
Collaboratively plan a range of investigation types, including field work and experiments, to answer their questions or solve
problems they have identified
Identify possible sources of error and suggest improvements to their investigation methods
Communicate ideas, findings, and solutions to problems using scientific language, representations, and digital technologies as
appropriate