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The Front Cover
(The copy is centred between the left and right margins andnormally begins about three inches from the top of the page)
Evaluations Based on Students' Abilities
to Work Effectively as Part of a Group
in courses at Mohawk College
March 29, 1996
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Title Page
A title page contains the title of the report,for whom it was prepared, who prepared it and the date it was submitted.
Evaluations Based on Students' Abilities
to Work Effectively as Part of a Group
in Courses at Mohawk College
Preparedfor:
Instructor Name, Title
Prepared
by:
Student Name, student
information
Submission
date:March 29, 200?
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Formal Report
Document Type: monograph
Report Format: formalReport Type: comprehensive
Transmittal Letter
333 West Avenue South
Anywhere, ON Z9Z 9Z9
March 29, 200?
M. My Instructor, Professor
Some College, Main Campus
PO Box 2034
Anytown, ON Y8Y 8Y8
Dear M. Instructor:
In response to your request to look into the evaluation methods of Mohawk College students, we
have completed a report that investigates the current evaluation methods at Mohawk College andstudies the prevalence and impediments of evaluations based upon students' ability to work
effectively as part of a team.
The study revealed that the current typical course evaluation breakdown involves marks for
assignments and examinations as well as some for attendance and participation. There were little
or no evaluations based on students' ability to work effectively as part of a team.
Students felt that group assignments helped them understand the material in the course betterthan other evaluation methods and helped them prepare for the workplace. Students also thought
that evaluations based on students' ability to work effectively as part of a team did not evaluatethe students' understanding of the material as well as other evaluation methods and were not as
fair as other assignments.
Interviews with instructors demonstrated that instructors found group work assessments difficult
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to administer and hard to determine individual contributions to the group.
Based on these findings, the report recommends that administration at Mohawk College
1. review the academic literature to determine if group work does prepare studentsfor the workplace
2. conduct a wider study of students in other programs and all semesters todetermine how students are currently being evaluated
3. encourage evaluation of students using group work evaluations4. work with faculty to resolve the issues involved with administering group work
evaluations
Thank you for the opportunity to complete this study. You can contact us at 555-3333 if you
have any questions about the report.
Sincerely,
Student Name
Student Name
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Executive Summary
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Situation
We feel that the the ability to work effectively as part of a team, has not been incorporated aspart of the grading system at Mohawk College. If students are to reach their potential after
graduation, they should receive instruction and evaluation of their ability to work effectively aspart of a team.
Methods
In this report, we explored the ways in which students are evaluated in courses at Mohawk
College, determined students' thoughts about evaluating the ability to work effectively as part of
a team and interviewed four instructors to determine the rationale for current evaluation methodsand the reasons why there isn't more evaluation based on group work.
Findings
Reviewing the course outlines showed on average that 60% of student evaluations are midterms
and final exams, 30% of evaluations are based on quizzes and assignments, and 10% are basedon attendance.
A questionnaire showed that students felt that group assignments helped students understand the
material in the course better than other evaluation methods and helped students prepare for the
workplace. The same questionnaire found that students felt that group assignments did not
evaluate the student understanding of the material as well as other evaluation methods and werenot as fair as other assignments.
Interviews with instructors reinforced the views of students regarding the ability of groupassignments to prepare students for the workplace. The interviews demonstrated that instructors
have the following administrative problems when using group work assessments:
difficult to organize difficult to administer if group breaks down hard to determine if all members of the group contribute equally hard for groups to meet outside of class time and not enough time for group
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meetings during class
Recommendations
Based on these findings, the report recommends that the administration at Mohawk College do
the following:
1) review the academic literature to determine if group work does prepare students for the
workplace
2) conduct a wider study of students in other programs and all semesters to determine how
students are currently being evaluated3) encourage evaluation of students using group work evaluations
4) work with faculty to resolve the issues involved with administering group work evaluations
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Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Executive Summary i
Contents ii
Introduction 1Research 2
Findings 2
Course Outlines 3
Questionnaires 3
Focus Groups 4
Interviews 4
Conclusions 5
Recommendations 5References 6
Appendix A - Student Questionnaire 7
Appendix B - Results of Questionnaire 8
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Body: Page 1
INTRODUCTION
The bookExcelerate: Growing in the New Economy lists four skills that are critical to success in
the next decade. In our experience, the first three skills - math skills, computer skills and
communication skills - have been incorporated into the curriculum of Mohawk College. We feelthat the fourth skill, the ability to work effectively as part of a team, has not been incorporated as
part of the grading system.
Rationale
If students at Mohawk College are to reach their potential after graduation, they should receiveinstruction and evaluation of their ability to work effectively as part of a team. If assignments
and assessments throughout the Mohawk College curriculum constantly reinforce the concept of
working together as a team, students would be better able to succeed upon graduation.
Scope
This report explores the ways in which students are evaluated in courses at Mohawk College. We
have used the courses that are currently offered within the core curriculum of the fourth semester
of the Business Administration program.
Methodology
Course Outlines
First we determined the amount of evaluation that is based upon group work within the specifiedcourses. The course outlines for the following eight Mohawk College course outlines were used
to determine evaluation types:
1. BA440: Business Finance 22. BA547: Operations Management 23. MA311: Business Statistics4. OB371: Introduction to Organizational Behaviour5. AC331: Accounting 3 - Financial6. BA545: Materials Management7. BA556: Distribution Management8. BA575: Consumer Behaviour
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QuestionnaireA questionnaire (see Appendix A) was distributed to current Businesss Administration class todetermine how they feel about current evaluation methods and compare these methods to
evaluations using group work. The questonnaire was completed by 20 respondents.
Focus GroupsAfter completing the questionnaire, we held two focus groups to discuss the results of thequestionnaire and determine students' thoughts about evaluating the ability to work effectively as
part of a team (Group A: 3 students; Group B: 4 students).
InterviewsFinally, we interviewed four of the eight instructors currently teaching these eight courses to
determine the following:
1. the rationale for current evaluation methods2. reasons why there isn't more evaluation based on group work
The instructors were from the following courses:
1. Business Finance 22. Operations Management3. Introduction to Organizational Behaviour4. Consumer Behaviour
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Body: Page 2
FINDINGS
A) Course Evaluation Methods
Reviewing the course outlines showed that three basic methods of evaluation were used:
midterm and final examinations; quizzes and assignments; and attendance.
We found that the average course evaluation consisted of 60% for Midterm and Final exams,
30% for Quiz and Assignmnents and 10% for Attendance (see Table 1).
Courses Midterm/FinalQuiz/Assignts Attendance
Business Finance 2 50% 40% 10%
OperationsManagement 2
60% 30% 10%
Business Statistics 50% 50% 0%
Introduction to
OrganizationalBehaviour
50% 35% 15%
Accounting 3 -
Financial
80% 20% 0%
Materials Management 70% 15% 15%
DistributionManagement
70% 20% 10%
Consumer Behaviour 50% 30% 20%
Average 60% 30% 10%
Table 1: Evaluation Methods for eight courses using Midterms and Final exams; Quizzes andAssignments; and Attendance.
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Body: Page 3
Figure 1: The Average Value of Evaluation Methods for fourth semester BusinessAdministration Courses.
There were no evaluations using group work indicated on the course outlines of the courses we
reviewed.
B) Efficacy of Evaluation
After determining the evaluation methods used in the fourth semester of the Business
Administration program, we distributed a questionnaire (the results have been tabulated in
Appendix A) to our classmates to determine their opinion of four evaluation methods: the three
contained in the course outlines and evaluations using group work.
We also asked students how often they have participated in team assignments.
The Questionnaire revealed the following results:
1) 80% of students thought group work help students very much or somewhat understand the
material, which was higher than all other methods of evaluation.
The percentage of students who felt that the other methods of evaluations helped students
understand the material very much or somewhat are as follows:
30% midterms and final exams
70% quizzes and assignments
40% attendance
2) 80% of students thought group work prepared them very much or somewhat for the
workplace.
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The results for the other methods of evaluations for preparation for the workplace were
significantly lower:
30% midterm and final exams50% quizzes and assignments
20% attendance
3) Students felt that group work evaluations reflected the material in the course similarly to
midterms and final exams and quizzes and assignments (60%), while attendance as a method of
evaluation was significantly lower (10%).
4) Students felt that group work evaluated the understanding of the course material (40% very
much or somewhat) less effectively than both midterms and final exams and quizzes and
assignments (50%) but still more effectively than attendance(10%).
5) Students felt that quizzes and assignments were fairer methods of evaluation (70% very much
or somewhat) than both midterms and final exams (50%) and group work (40%).
Figure 2 summarizes the findings for across these five topics.
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Body: Page 4
Figure 2: Percentage of Student Who Answered Very Much or Somewhat to the Questions
6) When questioned about the percentage of evaluations that are based on group work, all the
students answered not often (less than 20% of assignments) or not at all.
C) Focus Groups
Discussion with the two focus groups about the results of the questionnaire revealed the
following four main points, two that were positive and two that were negative
Positive:
1) Greater Understanding
Students felt that group work helped them understand the course material more because they
could help each other with the material as a group and because students would ask morequestions with their peers in small groups than they would with the instructor in a large class.
2) Workforce PreparationStudents felt that group work prepared them for the work force because they would have to work
effectively in groups in the workplace, but would encounter exams and quizzes less often.
Negative
3) Understanding Gaps
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Students felt that group work did not evaluate understanding as well as other evaluation methods,
except attendance, because evaluations of a group might reflect the abilities of the strongestmember of the group and not individual members.
4) Grades and Work Distribution
Because evaluations using group work may result in a grade that reflects the strongest member ofthe group, the students did not think group work was as fair as other evaluation methods.Students also felt that during group work evaluations, the work was not always spread equally
among the members, although the marks often were.
D) Instructor Viewpoints
The four instructors were interviewed separately and asked to comment on current evaluation
methods and the apparent lack of evaluations using group work.
The following is a summary of the instructors' views regarding evaluation methods:
1) Midterms and Final Examinations and Quizzes and Assignments
easy to administer the established methods of evaluating students guaranteed that each student was being evaluated on their own knowledge guaranteed that each student that passed had achieved a measurable
standard
2) Attendance
recommended to instructors by Student Success counsellors ensured that students were present to receive information from lectures,
etc.
did not measure students' abilities at all3) Group Work
difficult to organize difficult to administer if group breaks down hard to determine if all members of the group contribute equally hard for groups to meet outside of class time and not enough time for
group meetings during class helps students prepare for the workplace
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Body: Page 5
CONCLUSIONS
1. Amount of Group Evaluations
A review of the course outlines showed that there are no evaluations using group work in the
fourth semester of the core courses in the Business Administration program. A survey of thestudents enrolled in this semester showed that group work evaluations were used for less than
20% of assignments or not at all.
2. Workplace Efficacy
The same survey demonstrated that students felt that group work helped them to understand the
material in the course better than other evaluation methods. This survey also showed that
students also felt that group work evaluations better prepared students for the workplace aftergraduation. An interview with a sample of the instructors who teach courses in the fourth
semester of the Business Administration program also believed that group work helped prepare
students for the workplace.
3. Fairness and Administration
Both the students and instructors felt there was a problem of fairness and grading of students
who participate in group work assignments. As well, instructors felt that there were manydifficulties administering group work assignments.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Given that our study was based upon a limited source (one book,Excelerate: Growing inthe New Economy), before acting on any of the findings, the administration at Mohawk
College might
o review the academic literature to determine if group work does prepare studentsfor the workplace.
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2. Given that our study was based upon students and courses in one program during onesemester, the administration at Mohawk College should
o conduct a wider study of students in other programs and all semesters todetermine how students are currently being evaluated.
3. Based on the statements contained inExcelerate: Growing in the New Economy, theresponse of students and instructors, and if this information is reinforced by furtherinvestigation, the administration at Mohawk College should
o encourage evaluation of students using group work evaluations; ando work with faculty to resolve the issues involved with administering group work
evaluations.
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References
REFERENCES
1.Beck, Nuala.Excelerate: Growing in the New Economy. New
York: Random House, 1994.
2.Doe, Jane. Personal interview. March 15, 2002.
3. Mann, Rick. Personal interview. March 16, 2002.
4.Melody, Sally. Personal interview. March 23, 2002.
5.Smith, John. Personal interview. March 24, 2002.
Mohawk College Hope Page, 10 March 10, 2002,
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Appendix A
APPENDIX A
The Student Questionnaire
Please answer the following questions with regard to the evaluation method indicated beforeeach series of questions. Chose the response that most reflects your feelings about the question.
(Number of responses to survey in bold)
Part 1: Midterms and Final Examinations
1. Did this evaluation method help you to understand the material?
2 a) very much
4b) somewhat
12 c) not very much
2 d) not at all
2. Did this evaluation method appropriately evaluate your understanding of the material?
4 a) very much
6b) somewhat
6 c) not very much
4 d) not at all
3. Did this evaluation method reflect the material covered in the course?
4 a) very much
8b) somewhat
6 c) not very much
2d) not at all
4. Do you feel this method of evaluation is fair?
4 a) very much
6b) somewhat
6c) not very much
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4 d) not at all
5. Do you think this method of evaluation prepares you for the workplace?
0 a) very much
6b) somewhat10 c) not very much
4 d) not at all
Part 2: Quizzes and Assignments
6. Did this evaluation method help you to understand the material?
6 a) very much8b) somewhat
4 c) not very much
2 d) not at all
7. Did this evaluation method appropriately evaluate your understanding of the material?
4 a) very much
6b) somewhat
8 c) not very much
2 d) not at all
8. Did this evaluation method reflect the material covered in the course?
6 a) very much6b) somewhat
6 c) not very much
2 d) not at all
9. Do you feel this method of evaluation is fair?
6 a) very much
8b) somewhat
4 c) not very much
2 d) not at all
10. Do you think this method of evaluation prepares you for the workplace?
4 a) very much
6b) somewhat
8 c) not very much
2 d) not at all
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Part 3: Attendance
11. Did this evaluation method help you to understand the material?
2 a) very much
6b) somewhat6 c) not very much
6 d) not at all
12. Did this evaluation method appropriately evaluate your understanding of the material?
0 a) very much
2b) somewhat
4 c) not very much
14 d) not at all
13. Did this evaluation method reflect the material covered in the course?
0 a) very much
2b) somewhat
2 c) not very much
16 d) not at all
14. Do you feel this method of evaluation is fair?
4 a) very much
6b) somewhat
6 c) not very much4 d) not at all
15. Do you think this method of evaluation prepares you for the workplace?
2 a) very much
2b) somewhat
4 c) not very much
12 d) not at all
Part 4: Working as Part of a Team
16. Did this evaluation method help you to understand the material?
8 a) very much
8b) somewhat
2 c) not very much
2 d) not at all
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17. Did this evaluation method appropriately evaluate your understanding of the material?
2 a) very much
6b) somewhat
5 c) not very much
7 d) not at all
18. Did this evaluation method reflect the material covered in the course?
6 a) very much
6b) somewhat
4 c) not very much
4 d) not at all
19. Do you feel this method of evaluation is fair?
4 a) very much4b) somewhat
6 c) not very much
6 d) not at all
20. Do you think this method of evaluation prepares you for the workplace?
10 a) very much
6b) somewhat
2 c) not very much
2 d) not at all
21. How often have you participated in team assignments?
0 a) very often (over 75% of assignments)
0b) fairly often (between 50% and 74% of assignments)
0 c) average (between 21% and 49%)
12 d) not often (greater than 0 but less than 20%)
8 e) not at all