DEVELOPING A RUBRIC TO ASSESS STUDENT WORKS IN FOUNDATION DESIGN COURSE TEMEL TASARIM STÜDYOSUNDA ÖĞRENCİ ÇALIŞMALARININ DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ İÇİN RUBRİK GELİŞTİRİLMESİ
Metu Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, vol.43, no.1, pp.277-300, 2026 (AHCI, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 43 Issue: 1
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.4305/metu.jfa.2026.1.10
- Journal Name: Metu Journal of the Faculty of Architecture
- Journal Indexes: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Scopus, Art Source, Avery, Index Islamicus
- Page Numbers: pp.277-300
- Keywords: Design education, foundation design, rubric based assessment, rubric for design studio, studio pedagogy
- Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
- Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
This study aims to improve assessment in foundation design studio courses by bringing much-needed systematization and theoretical grounding so that learning goals are better communicated among the tutors and with the students. For this purpose, first, the specific pedagogy of foundation design studio courses is detailed to better explain the need for specifically tailored assessment criteria. Accordingly, a review of literature is presented on the ways to define and measure assessment criteria with an assessment rubric based on Biggs’ SOLO taxonomy. A method consisting of 5 consecutive stages is used to develop this rubric for our specific context: 1- definition of assessment criteria, 2- ranking matrices and portfolio testing, 3- expert interviews, 4- inter-rater reliability analysis, 5- field testing for three academic terms. Based on the outcomes of these stages, we argue in favor of using rubrics for assessment in foundation design studios, since this approach makes grading more consistent, time-efficient, in-depth and fair. Moreover, the rubric development process in itself was found to be very beneficial for the tutor team as it unified their approach to education and assessment. This study both provides a guideline for the educators who want to develop their own rubric, as well as presenting the rubric we developed to improve assessment in foundation design studios.