| Course | NUR 640 Assessment and Evaluation in Nursing Education |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 10 |
| Paper type | closing reflective journal on the educator as evaluator |
| Length | About 440 words, 3 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | MSN |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 640 Module 10
Module Ten Journal
I Thought I Was a Fair Grader
When this course began, I thought of assessment as the part of teaching I did after the teaching was over. I taught on the unit, and twice a rotation, at the halfway point and the finish, I filled in the evaluation form. I also thought of myself as a fair grader. I cared about my students, I knew them well and I tried hard to be objective. Ten weeks later I see each of those beliefs differently.
The first change was about timing. Hattie and Timperley (2007) describe effective feedback as helping learners see the goal, where they are now and what to do next, and they note that praise about the person does little for learning. My clinical feedback was mostly "good job today" at the end of a shift, and the specific concerns waited for midterm. Now I see that the weekly anecdotal note, shared with the student, is itself teaching. A student who hears on Tuesday that she missed a rising heart rate can notice it on Thursday.
The second change was harder to admit. In the grading exercise, my score on the anonymized paper was the highest of the group, and when I learned the writer's identity I realized I had been reading it generously because of her reputation. Malouff and Thorsteinsson (2016) found in their meta-analysis that knowing irrelevant things about a student shifts grades on identical work. Caring about students does not protect against that; it may even make it more likely. Fairness, I now think, comes from the process: anonymous marking where possible, scoring one criterion at a time and asking a colleague to score the work closest to the pass line.
The third change was about rubrics. I used to hand them out with the assignment and forget them until grading. Panadero and Jonsson (2013) reviewed studies showing that rubrics used formatively, especially with self-assessment, can improve performance by making expectations clear. When my students scored an old care plan with the rubric in class, the discussion about why a plan aimed at a lesser problem could not earn a high score taught more than my lecture had.
For my next clinical group, I will do three things. I will share a written, specific note with every student each week. I will score written work without names and ask a colleague to second-mark anything near the pass line. And I will spend the first post-conference having students score an example with our rubric. Assessment, I have learned, is not the end of teaching. Done well, it is some of the best teaching I do.
References
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487
Malouff, J. M., & Thorsteinsson, E. B. (2016). Bias in grading: A meta-analysis of experimental research findings. Australian Journal of Education, 60(3), 245-256. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944116664618
Panadero, E., & Jonsson, A. (2013). The use of scoring rubrics for formative assessment purposes revisited: A review. Educational Research Review, 9, 129-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2013.01.002
What the NUR 640 Module 10 instructions ask for
The final NUR 640 journal typically invites you to look back at how you now see assessment, evaluation and your own role as the person who judges student work, and to say what you will change. The voice is personal, yet most prompts still require two or three scholarly citations in APA 7. Aim for roughly 400 to 600 words. Pick a small number of real shifts, name the assumption you started with and the reading, exercise or student encounter that unsettled it, link each shift to a source and finish with actions a colleague could actually watch you take with your next clinical group or class. Stay candid throughout.
How this NUR 640 Module 10 journal example is built
This journal comes from a clinical instructor who reflects on three shifts. Feedback moves from end-of-shift praise to weekly specific notes, drawing on Hattie and Timperley. The writer admits to scoring a paper generously once the student's reputation was known and uses the Malouff and Thorsteinsson meta-analysis to conclude that fairness comes from process design. Rubrics become teaching tools after students score an old care plan in class, supported by Panadero and Jonsson. The entry ends with three commitments: weekly written notes, anonymous marking with second scoring near the pass line and a rubric exercise in the first post-conference. Each shift pairs an old habit with the research that ended it.
Where the NUR 640 Module 10 rubric puts the points
Closing journals in NUR 640 are generally scored on depth and honesty of reflection, connection to course concepts and evidence, application to the writer's own teaching, organization and APA 7 mechanics. Entries that rise to the top describe particular moments, including uncomfortable ones, rather than summarizing the syllabus. Graders check that each source genuinely supports the shift it is attached to and that closing commitments can be seen in practice, not just promised. Owning a past habit and naming what replaces it usually scores better than sweeping claims of personal growth. A brief final paragraph that pulls the shifts into one idea helps the entry read as a whole.
NUR 640 Module 10 help: the mistakes that cost points
Evaluator journals lose points when they walk through the course outline instead of the writer's thinking, when growth is asserted with no example, when citations sit apart from the story they should support or when the final plans are too vague to check. Pick real moments, set the old assumption beside what replaced it, attach a source to each shift and close with actions a peer could observe. Include one uncomfortable admission; graders notice honesty. For a different prompt, such as your evaluation philosophy, the ethics of high-stakes testing or feedback for struggling students, send it with your NUR 640 notes and the entry will be shaped around that theme.
Get NUR 640 Module 10 written to your instructions
Tell us which NUR 640 moments changed how you see assessment and paste in the assignment wording. You will receive a first-person evaluator reflection linking every shift to research and closing with commitments for your next group, within 24 to 48 hours, free the first time. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.
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NUR 640 Module 10 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 640 Module 10 Journal sample?
The full journal is on this page: a nurse educator reflects on feedback during learning, fairness by process design and rubrics as teaching tools, with three commitments.
What should a NUR 640 closing journal include?
Specific changes in your thinking about assessment, the evidence behind each and concrete commitments for your next course or clinical group.
Does caring about students make grading fairer?
Not necessarily. Research shows irrelevant information about students shifts grades, so fairness depends on process, such as anonymous marking.
How can rubrics be used for teaching?
Share them before the assignment and have students score examples or their own drafts, which makes expectations clear and supports self-assessment.
What makes clinical feedback effective?
It is specific, timely and focused on the task and next steps rather than general praise, so students can act on it in their next shift.