Using Rubrics as Feedback Mechanisms for Doctoral Supervisors and Researchers

This book examines the use of formative rubrics as a feedback mechanism in doctoral education, redefining rubrics as formative assessment artefacts as well as summative scoring methods. Grainger, Johnston and Gonsalves bring together insights from globally recognised experts to position rubrics as formative assessment criteria-based tools that provide feedback to guide both supervisors and students.

Featuring example rubrics and drawing on research findings, the book includes chapters on using rubrics to guide student self-reflection and as a scaffold for doctoral learning dialogue, social pressures in thesis examination and the use of generative AI in formative assessment. The content shows how rubrics can function as a key mechanism for clarifying behavioural expectations, guiding doctoral candidates, potentially reducing student attrition and ensuring timely completions.

An essential resource for doctoral supervisors, the book is also a worthwhile read for doctoral students interested in using rubrics to improve their writing via structured feedback.

Peter Grainger (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. He is a prolific publisher of assessment related research, especially around the design and efficacy of rubrics in undergraduate and postgraduate education contexts, including doctoral education. His recent research focuses on feedback literacy of doctoral students and supervisors and the potential of formative assessment criteria-based tools (FACTs) to act as additional feedback mechanisms.

Craig Johnston (PhD) is an early career researcher at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. His most recent research focuses on assessment rubrics, particularly the ways in which generative artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to as an alternate formative feedback tool for students.

Chahna Gonsalves (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing (Education), at King’s College London, UK, where her research and scholarship focus on assessment and feedback, generative AI, communication, and message impact. Chahna is the Department Education Lead and a Senior Fellow of Advance HE.