Managing & Assessing Student Group / Team Work

Dr Kate Exley2010

Outline Programme

Introductions, background and context Benefits and difficulties Key skills developed

Managing and organising groupsIssues of Assessment

The assessment focus Assessment strategies

Problems and workable solutions

A shared view (p3)

“Group work, under proper conditions, encourages peer learning and peer support and many studies validate the efficacy of peer learning…..

Under less than ideal conditions, group work can become the vehicle for acrimony, conflict and freeloading.”

University of Wollongong Assessment Policy (2002)

1. Peer learning can improve quality of student learning

2. Can develop specific skills for employment

3. May reduce assessment work

Australian Universities Teaching Committee

Three good reasons (p5)

Benefits in your discipline? (p4)

Which skills developed?

What benefits?

What possibilities?

What impact on staff?

Worries and problems (p6)

What are your main concerns about student group work and its assessment?

Common Difficulties (p7)

Lack of relevanceUnclear objectives Inequality of contributionOveruseDifferent learning stylesBadly managedSkills not really developedLack of progression

Considering difference

Disability issuesMixed ability Cultural differencesMature studentsPersonalitiesLearning stylesetc

Guidance on ‘group working’ (p8)

What issues would you include in ‘group working’ guidance for your students

Remember cultural differences and expectations.

… and what is your role?

Instructor / leaderFacilitator /guideObserver /

commentatorDrop-in monitorCounsellor / mediatorAssessor / Giver of

feedback

Managing GroupsFour Key issues

1. Putting groups together

2. Establishing Team roles & responsibilities

3. Time-tabled group meetings (recorded)

4. Clear processes & procedures

1. Putting groups together (p9)

How to build groups?a. Friendship / self selection groupingsb. Teacher assigned groups

(Socially engineered, streamed, etc)

What size of group?a. Is ideal?b. Is necessary or practical?

2. Group roles

Traditional roles

(chair, secretary, etc)

Task or Topic roles

(‘I will find out about A, you find out about B)

Group effectiveness

(What does a ‘good team’ need to function)

2. Group rolesBelbin and Belbin (p11)

CoordinatorShaperPlantMonitor-EvaluatorImplementerResource InvestigatorTeam WorkerCompleter Finisher (& Specialist)

3. Group meetings

Time-tabled

Provision of space

Guidance on running meetings

Process for running meetingsAgendas and MinutesSuggested framework & timings

4. Processes & Procedures

Need to be able to explain to students……..

Why they are working in groups and not individually?

How the group work will help them to attain the learning outcomes of their courses?

How their contribution will be assessed (fairly)?

4. Monitoring Processes

How will you know if the student groups are functioning?

What will you

do if they aren’t?

Purposes of Assessment

Measuring individual competenceMeasuring learning from the group

collaborationMeasuring group productivityMeasuring students’ abilities to collaborate

with others as a team

Webb,N.M. (1997)

Assessment of groupsThe four choices

Product or Process or Both?

What Assessment criteria (& who determines them)?

Who assesses?

How will marks be distributed?

The assessment variables

Assessment

Product

Focus

Process

Who

Tutor

1.Product

Tutor

2. Process

Tutor

Students

Product

Students

Process

Students

What Criteria (p15)

What criteria are important in assessing things that the group Produces, (e.g. reports, posters, websites)?

What criteria are important in assessing group Processes (e.g. how they work together and the skills

they develop)?

Task …. Assessing group products

Lets start by thinking about assessing group products - because its easier!

a. What can groups produce together?

b. Who can actually assess the product(s)?

Focus on Product(s) - Pros and Cons Table Exercise

Some approaches :-

Shared group markGroup average mark Individual mark - allocated task Individual mark - individual report Individual mark - examinationCombination of group average & individual mark

Involving students in distributing the grade (p19)

Students distribute mark awarded by the tutor (within a given range) (4X80 =320 marks)

Involving students in distributing the grade

Students distribute ‘product’ mark (e.g. 80) awarded by the tutor (within a given range?) (4X80 =240 marks)

Students allocate individual weightings 0 (zero contribution) to 1 (Full contribution)Or - 5 (less than) to 0 (average) to + 5 (more than)

Involving students in distributing the grade

Students distribute marks awarded by the tutor (within a given range) (4X80 =240 marks)

Students allocate individual weightings 0 (zero contribution) to 1 (Full contribution)Or -5 (less than) to 0 (average) to +5 (more than)

Anonymous peer marking sheets that the tutor uses to weight individual students’ marks

Involving students Students distribute marks awarded by the tutor (within a

given range) (4X80 =240 marks)

Students allocate individual weightings 0 (zero contribution) to 1 (Full contribution)Or -5 (less than) to 0 (average) to +5 (more than)

Peer marking sheets that the tutor uses to weight individual students’ marks

But what are the studentsreally assessing here?

Focus on Process - Criteria?

Attendance at meetingsEquity of contribution & division of labourCo-operationTime and task managementProblem solvingDevelopment of professional skillsListeningResponding to feedback etc etc etc

How can students evidence … Process …

Reports Meeting agendas & minutes

Testimonials Observations

Interviews Reflective pieces

Journals & diaries Achievement of set tasks

Application – Scenario (p20)

Please present the outline of your approach on a poster

Choose a group spokesperson to report back

Some useful follow-up resources

Johnson, D. W. and Johnson, R. T. (2004)Assessing students in groups : promoting group responsibility and individual accountability

A set of links to case studies and reports on assessing groups from Essex University

http://www.essex.ac.uk/assessment/group_assessment.htm