Assessment of Group Work: Assessment of Group Work: Opportunities and Challenges Opportunities and Challenges Presentation 1 Presentation 1 10 November 2017 10 November 2017 Erasmus+ LOAF Project, Erasmus+ LOAF Project, Vilnius, Lithuania Vilnius, Lithuania Dr Declan Kennedy, Dr Declan Kennedy, Department of Education, Department of Education, University College Cork, Ireland. University College Cork, Ireland. 1 1 1 1
Why use group work Why use group work 1. 1. as part of our teaching, as part of our teaching, learning and learning and assessment? assessment? What are the What are the 2. 2. advantages and advantages and challenges of group challenges of group work? work? How do we assess How do we assess 3. 3. group work? group work? What can we learn What can we learn 4. 4. from the literature from the literature about assessment of about assessment of group work? group work? 2 2 2 2
Why use Group Work? Group work refers to two or more students working together as part of a formal assessment. Group work is usually related to the module or programme learning outcomes. Social interaction and collaboration may be an important part of achieving some of the learning outcomes of the module or programme. The assessment task may be more demanding than individual students could manage on their own so sharing of the labour is required, e.g. detailed research required, a lot of data to be analysed, high level of problem-solving skills, report writing, presentation of results, etc. 3 3
Advantages of Group Work The literature documents a range of academic and social benefits of group work: Group work provides a structure within which students can get to know one another and thus reduce their sense of isolation – especially in first year of university. Gain teamwork skills with opportunities to develop leadership skills. The development of collaborative skills, e.g. flexiblity, accepting criticism, compromising, negotiation. Development of planning skills as part of a team. Increased active participation and involvement in the programme. Opportunities for students to work on large and/or complex projects. The promotion of student autonomy by transferring some of the responsibility for teaching and learning to students. Organisation and time management skills. Development of higher order thinking skills, e.g. evaluating the work of others, analysing the requirements of the project, interpreting results, etc. 4 4
Advantages of Group Work (continued) Group work has the potential to improve student engagement and their performance. Springer et al, (1999) reviewed 383 studies and on the basis of the evidence supported “widespread implementation of small-group learning” (p21) in undergraduate education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology. There must be assessment mechanisms that encourage student learning. 5 5
Challenges presented by group work The management and guidance of group work may take more work than marking individual projects of papers. Students are interested, motivated and committed to undertaking group work to very different degrees. Some students may be hostile to the concept and don’t see it as a reflection of authentic workplace practices. You need to present a clear educational rationale for using group work for assessment. Otherwise, students may be unconvinced of its value and therefore resistant to its use. Teachers must spend considerable time setting up group work and preparing students for it. Students must also invest time undertaking it, particularly if it is inadequately planned. The over-use of group work in several modules can put too much pressure on students' scarce time. (UNSW 2008). 6 6
Social and personality differences, or organisational difficulties, can break up groups and teams, thus disadvantaging them in assessment. Students feeling excluded (Noonan, 2013), The demands placed on students’ time (Lee et al ., 2015). It can be difficult to grade individual input (discussed later) (UNSW 2008). 7 7
Selecting the composition of each group May be done by self-selection, by the teacher (“tutor”, “professor”, “lecturer”) or randomly. 8 8
Self Selection Self selection allows students to work with friends and this may increase motivation to succeed (Quinn and Hughes 2007). Some students will not be selected for group inclusion as they fall outside the “friendship groups” for various reasons (Vinkenoog 2010) . This could result in the marginalisation of some students and cause a lack of engagementt at an early stage (Mellor and Entwistle 2010). Self-selection could result in students missing out on the opportunity to work and listen to the variety of views that working with students that they haven't worked with before may provide. (Noonan 2013) The pre-existing friendship groups may discourage students from adopting different roles within the group which in turn may inhibit individual contributions (Buxton 2003). 9 9
Advice on avoiding self-selection Students could identify other students who are disorganised, poor attendance record or too vocal in their views and would not wish to work with these in a self-selected group due to a negative impact on the grade achieved. A selection process set up by the teacher is preferable so that suggest students should be encouraged to work together in non-selected groups from the beginning (Mellor 2009) .If introduced later on in the programme when students have been accustomed to having self-selected groups, resistance from students could be experienced. Random selection could be considered a The selection system more authentic situation encountered in the used by D Kennedy workplace. 10 10
“Streaming groups raises group marks for the groups of better students and reduces the marks of the groups of weaker students, including on subsequent individual assessments. So it is better to create mixed ability groups provided assessment works in such a way that the better students can benefit from their greater contribution.” (Gibbs 2010) Importance of cohesiveness in the group, i.e. students focus on the task to be completed for the group assignment rather than spending time on conflict management. The teacher has a key role in taking steps to ensuring group cohesiveness, e.g. providing support to students who feel isolated. This includes considering how marginalised or isolated students can best be supported within groups in an equitable way (Foreman-Peck and McDowell 2010). 11 11
12 12 Some BSc(Ed) students and staff
Problem of “Freeloading” (“free riding”, “passengers”, “social loafing”) in a group “Free riders” or ‘passengers’ are students assigned to a group who do not contribute or do not contribute to the level required to complete the project and in so doing cause unnecessary stress and frustration to fellow students in the group (Perry 2008). This is part of the experience of group work – preparation for the world of work when they encounter colleagues that do not contribute to the workload. 13 13
Strategies for dealing with “freeloaders” Important to have a marking system to identify the contribution of individuals. Otherwise it has been shown that there is a very significant decrease in individual effort when working in groups compared with the work of individuals (Latane et al. 1979). The level of freeloading increased when tasks are not identified clearly. (George 1992) Setting group goals with reward attributed to individual contributions; Informal and formal reviews of group/in-dividual performance at regular intervals. Group report and individual logs and weekly reflective journals. Students appreciate it when the lecturer makes an attempt to deal with students that are not contributing fairly to the project (Perry 2008) 14 14
What size of group? A group size of 4 – 5 is generally recommended in the literature. As group size increases, individual motivation decreases (Kerr & Bruun 1983). Students may lack the group management and facilitation skills to cope with large groups. Large groups slow down progress – more difficult to reach decisions and monitoring progress. Larger groups encourage freeloading as students can avoid work more easily. 15 15
16 16 Assessment of Group Work
Carrying out Group Work No simple formula or “best approach” to ensure that group-work assignments and assessment of these assignments will run smoothly. Choose an approach that suits your programme, the demands of of the module, the facilities available, etc. 17 17
Assessment Challenges Getting the assessment “right” and appropriate for your own particular circumstances in your institution. Group work does not automatically benefit students – it needs to be well planned, well structured and supported by the teacher and by the institution (Dundalk Guidelines 2016). Student perceptions of unfairness (MacFarlane, 2016 Smith and Rogers 2014). 18 18
Recommend
More recommend
