Based on today’s discussion about scientists’ notebooks, I drafted the following rubric for assessing students’ notebooks in class, following the guidelines of a lesson over at SGSI.
Personal Relevance: Does your notebook demonstrate that are you engaged and thinking rather than simply going through the motions of copying down notes and data?
| Requirement | page #s – tell me where to look | Grade – I’ll do this |
| Evidence of your ideas and their progression: this should include things that you do understand, things you don’t understand, and show the process of your thinking. | ||
| Attempts to interpret, explain, or draw inferences from observations–not just observations and data. | ||
| Questions that arise as you conduct research and your attempts to answer them. | ||
| Evidence of personal expressions, personality, individual style, engagement or creativity | ||
| Sketches, drawings, or diagrams that convey thinking, capture observations, or depict what was done. |
Public Relevance: Is your notebook useful and understandable for others familiar with your research. Can they follow the sequence of ideas, experiments, and data?
| Requirement | page #s – tell me where to look | Grade – I’ll do this one |
| All days are dated and pages are numbered | ||
| There is some organization (such as labels or titles) among the “chaos”. | ||
| There are references to peers’ work or ideas when they influenced your own thinking. | ||
| There are details and accurate accounts of what you observed, such that your findings are well documented | ||
| There are detailed, accurate descriptions of procedures, making it possible to go back and repeat or “troubleshoot” |
Teach. Brian. Teach. 
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