Impact of Co-Constructed Criteria of Rubric for Feedback Provision on Saudi EFL Writing Skills

Abstract

Although several writing educators use rubrics to assess writing, the creation and implementation of these rubrics barely take second language (L2) learners into consideration. This study aimed to investigate the effect of engaging Saudi EFL undergraduates in the process of co-constructing a rubric for English essay-writing performance. The study also explored the students’ attitudes toward using the co-constructed rubric as a set of guiding criteria for the provision of written feedback by teachers. Grounded in socio-cultural theory and active learning pedagogy, this study conceptualizes the co-constructed rubrics as a mediating mean for scaffolding and promoting students’ writing skills while engaging learners in the learning process and enabling them to take ownership of their own learning. The study adopted a quantitative approach that involved a quasi-experimentation in the form of a pretest-posttest design and the administration of an online survey. The sample consisted of 40 female EFL learners assigned to three independent groups: students who received written feedback based on the rubric criteria that they had cooperatively designed with their instructor (Experimental Group 1, n = 15); students who received written feedback based on the rubric Experimental Group 1 had designed with the instructor, provided to them without participating in its creation (Experimental Group 2, n = 12); and students who did not receive any rubric or criteria on which their instructor based her feedback (control group, n = 13). A one-way analysis of covariance (ANOVA) indicated that statistically significant differences were evident among the three groups in terms of writing performance. Experimental Group 1 outperformed the other two groups, with a large effect size (η2 = .20) associated with their writing skills development compared to Experimental Group 2 (η2 = .15) and the control group (η2 = .03). In addition, the responses to the survey from Experimental Group 1 were analyzed, and it was found that the students held positive attitudes toward the written feedback they received from their professor based on the rubric they created together. They also had positive attitudes toward their engagement in the process of creating the rubric criteria with their instructor. In light of the findings, the researcher recommends the following: application of rubrics in writing classrooms for formative assessments, including the learners in the designing process, negotiating the rubric criteria they would like to be assessed on and what they would like to receive timely written teacher feedback on in order to improve writing skills.