Using Rubrics to Assess Student Knowledge Related to Sustainability: A Practitioner’s View

As institutions of higher education reorient curriculum to address sustainability, the first step is usually to weave sustainability into the curriculum. Changes in pedagogy, including assignments and assessment of student learning, follow. Complex learning related to sustainability requires assessment techniques that mirror such complexity. This article describes an assignment for graduate students in a school of education—designing a sustainability implementation plan—and the 16-dimension rubric with three levels of performance used for assignment assessment. The 16 dimensions assess three components of the assignment: (1) description of elements of the basic plan, (2) description of the context of implementation and (3) application of principles of sustainability. An additional rubric assesses writing skills. Rubrics are useful beyond grading; they also help students conceptualise the assignment.