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Judging
Explore strategies for choosing judges, developing rubrics and creating a judging process that values critical thinking, collaboration and innovation.
Meaningful project evaluation
Judging is the final step of the process and a critical learning opportunity. Judge's feedback is taken seriously by participants and is used to improve overall solution thinking. This means selection judges and compiling evaluation criteria are crucial in shaping what students learn and value. Each judge independently scores the projects using shared criteria given to participants during the in-person session.
Selecting judges
Invite judges with knowledge related to the topic
- Consider who can engage with the content and reasoning of a project, and not just the technical aspects or presentation quality.
- Subjectivity is unavoidable as different judges will interpret and value projects differently based on background and expertise.
Remember, a diverse group of judges brings multiple perspectives and lenses for evaluation while helping students recognize that ideas can be evaluated from many angles.
Consider including judges or mentors with backgrounds in critical inquiry, critical pedagogy, or related fields.
- They're more likely to consider root causes and system factors and help students broaden their solutions for social, cultural, and institutional impact.
Develop a rubric
A well-designed rubric ensures projects are evaluated on more than presentation quality. Shared criteria help judges calibrate their evaluations while aiding students in their understanding of what quality looks like.
Consider criteria that:
Values critical thinking, questions assumptions, and addresses systemic causes and not just efficiency, feasibility, or implementation.
- While practical factors matter, they're often shaped by the systems students are trying to address.
Recognizes disruptive or system-changing ideas that create space for students to imagine possibilities beyond structures that already exist.
Sample judging criteria:
- Problem framing reveals a unique angle to the problem
- Considers the voices of affected but voiceless people
- Solution disrupts the system that caused the initial problem
- Demonstrates collaborative and cross-disciplinary work
- Professional presentation with a refined visual prototype
Addressing existing solutions
Some ideas may appear innovative but are similar to solutions that currently exist. To address this, facilitators can conduct a brief search and provide the judges with examples of current solutions that already exist that judges may not be aware of.
Additionally, a question can be included in the meeting handbook that states: "Does this solution already exist?" This can encourage students to examine and evaluate existing efforts before advancing an idea, also aiding the judges in assessment.
Helpful resources
These resources are used during this phase of the event. Feel free to download and modify them for your own needs.