Laboratory Notebook Rubric

When you read a submission think about your overall, holistic impression of how well the submission adhered to the rules of notebook maintenance, and then score it, keeping in mind that with a holistic evaluation, we reward what is there rather than penalize for absence of any one feature. Remember that these are only descriptors, not primary traits that must be measurable in the submission to warrant a particular score (you may find other features that suggest the student is engaging in scientific reasoning, and these should be noted). When deciding on how to score a submission, it may be helpful to ask whether the item has some, many or all of the features listed under a particular score.

Some Descriptors of Competence in Notebook Maintenance

5 Strong Competence

•All required sections are present and are formatted correctly (including name of lab partner, title of the exercise, date work was done)

•Notebook is neat, orderly and legible

•Tables, graphs and data are used appropriately and are of proper size and format

•Pages are dated and signed

•Proper protocols are followed in regard to errors, empty space, etc.

•Procedural Outline concisely written in student’s own words

•Changes to procedure are noted in the Procedural Outline

•Results section is written in complete sentences and is a complete recounting of what was done and what was observed

 

4 Competence

•All required sections are present and are formatted correctly

•Notebook is by and large neat, orderly and legible

•Tables, graphs and data are used appropriately and are of proper size and format

•Most pages are dated and signed

•Proper protocols are followed in regard to errors, empty space, etc.

•Procedural Outline written in student’s own words

•Changes to procedure are noted in the Procedural Outline

•Results section is generally written in complete sentences and is a complete recounting of what was done and what was observed, although there may be occasional lapses

 

3 Weak Competence

•Most required sections are present, although some may be formatted incorrectly

•Notebook has significant lapses of neatness, orderliness and legibility

•Necessary tables, graphs and data are present, but are lacking in some way (e. g., table headings, graph axis labels, etc.)

•Only a few pages are dated or signed

•Haphazard application of proper protocols regarding errors, empty space, etc.

•Procedural Outline largely a repetition of given material

•Changes to procedure may be noted in the Procedural Outline

•Results section consists mainly of random observations and jotted down numbers

 

2 Minimal Competence

•One or more required sections are missing or formatted incorrectly

•Necessary tables, graphs and data are present, but are lacking in several important features

•Pages are not dated or signed

•Haphazard application of proper protocols regarding errors, empty space, etc.

•Procedural Outline essentially a copy of the given procedure with minor changes

•Changes to procedure are not noted in the Procedural Outline

•Results section consists mainly of random observations and jotted down numbers or results are recorded in the Procedural Outline

 

1 Lacking any Evidence of Coherent Recordkeeping

•May have only one or two sections present or labeled properly

•Illegible writing, haphazard placement of records within the notebook

•Missing tables, graphs and data, what is present is not formatted properly

•Pages are not dated or signed

•No apparent set of rules used to prepare the notebook

•Procedural Outline is a simple recopying of the laboratory exercise with minor changes

•Changes to procedure are not noted

•Results are missing or consist only of numbers presented without context

 

0 No Submission

•No submission of the requested laboratory notebook materials was made, or what was turned in lacked any degree of effort

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