Developing a Rubric
On a parallel track, our internal content and instructional design team began to operationalize a rubric that would reflect the work of the advisory group and inform our audit activities.
The DEI rubric included the following areas:
- Content: Our courses need to represent the diversity of children and families that educators are working with in a variety of early learning settings. This area of the rubric includes four categories and 28 standards.
- Design: Our courses should follow inclusive design practices, account for diverse learning conditions (low internet bandwidth, time and resource constraints, multiple devices to access information, etc.), and include multiple ways for the adult learners to engage with the material and demonstrate what they have learned. This area of the rubric includes five categories and 13 standards.
- Overview: Our courses should provide clear information about course expectations for success and how to access supports for full and effective participation. This area includes three categories and 11 standards.
Content
The Content area of the DEI rubric includes four categories: 1) Language, 2) Instructional Materials, 3) Application to ECE Settings and 4) Assessment and Measurement.
Language standards include using inclusive terminology with respectful references to the various dimensions of diversity for groups, populations, categories, abilities, or conditions.
Instructional Materials standards assess the extent to which the content represents diverse children and families and includes equitable teaching practices that are effective for children with varying abilities, languages, ethnicities, and racial identities.
Application to ECE Settings standards ensure the content is appropriate for beginning early learning professionals.
Assessment and Measurement standards ensure that course assessments are relevant for a variety of ECE settings and that adult learners can demonstrate knowledge in a variety of ways.
Design
Our online course Design standards represent 5 main categories: 1) Overview and Structure, 2) Inclusive Environment, 3) Presentation, 4) Image and Multimedia, and 5) Assessment.
Overview and Structure assess the visual representation of how the content is organized and the different components in the course (topics, graded activities).
Inclusive Environment standards ensure that the content presents no barriers for learners with permanent, temporary, situational, or changing disabilities. This category also accounts for learners with different levels of understanding of the learning topics and language proficiency. For example, Content is presented in multiple ways and video and audio are accessible.
Presentation includes clear layout and design, meaning that the content is presented in a way that allows learners to access the information without complication.
Images and Multimedia standards verify that content is presented in multiple forms (videos, interactives, images, text, tables, etc.) to support the various ways that learners perceive and comprehend information.
Assessment standards assess for clear instructions, variety of assignments, alternate assignment, chunking of major assignments and examples.
Overview
Our course Overview standards include 3 areas: 1) Learning environment, 2) Participant support and 3) Instructor presence. It also provides access to course documentation like the course syllabus and schedule and course policies.
Learning Environment standards ensure course goals and objectives are clearly stated, course accessibility standards are met, and course information that clearly outlines expectations for successful completion.
Participant Support standards focus on items such as setting norms for respectful course engagement, information on institutional standards and supports and other information to aid students in reaching out for support or submitting assignments.
Instructor Presence includes standards about instructor specific support for inclusion (visiting hours, late work policy, etc.), contact information, and the instructor’s commitment to equity.
