Forms of Assessment

Collaborative assessment

Description

Having students work together, rather than individually, to produce a project or presentation.

Indications

• Use this approach when you want students to learn from each other, particularly in terms of drawing on previous experiences   
• or when the material is too much reasonably to be covered by one individual   
• or for a practical exercise which requires more than one person to complete it (such as a surveying exercise), or where equipment and resources are limited, and need to be shared (in some lab settings).

Contra-Indications

• Working in groups with limited teacher guidance calls for a degree of maturity on the part of the students, and probably a certain amount of social cohesion within the group as a whole. Do not try it with a group which is still "forming" or "storming". Do not try it where there is any prior evidence of bullying or harassment.
   
• This is particularly the case in relation to relatively long-term projects which require effective management to be exercised by group members over their own efforts, especially where out-of-class research etc. is called for.
   
• In practical terms, it is extremely difficult to use this approach in conjunction with an anonymous-marking system.

Special precautions

• Care needs to be taken with the composition of the groups: is it more desirable to work in
   
  • mixed-ability groups, so that the weaker members can learn from the stronger? or
     
  • "streamed" groups, so that the tutor can spend more time with the weaker groups?
      
  • Self-selected groups, based on shared interests if each group is undertaking a slightly different project? Note that social considerations are quite likely to contaminate "shared interest" choices, which may or may not matter. Note the importance of thinking through the equal opportunities implications before accepting this apparently easy option.
      
• Attention similarly needs to be devoted to the awarding of marks or grades for the associated assignment. There is always the possibility that one or members of the group will not "pull their weight", and may therefore jeopardise the assessment of their colleagues, or coast to a good mark on their backs. You can:
    
  • call for individual assignments, based on the work done in common, but assessed conventionally. This is the safest method but can undermine the required co-operative culture, if individuals know that they can "break away" when it comes to the final assessment.
      
  • allocate the same mark to everyone in the group, with the attendant problems identified above.
      
  • allocate a total mark to the group (mark for the project x number of members) and let them work out themselves how it is to be divided up. This is a radical approach which requires considerable sophistication and negotiation skills on the part of the members of the group, and may constitute an abrogation of the teacher's appropriate authority.
      
  • award individual marks regardless of the work being group-based. This is bound to be subjective, and further subject to your prejudices and preferences for some students (yes, even you and me!)
     
  • Call for a common group report, and allocate the same mark to everyone for that (out of perhaps 60% or so of the total marks for the assignment), but then allow individuals to submit additional work for the remaining 40% of the marks: this is (imho) probably the best compromise.

Notes

Clear briefing for group-based tasks is essential. Since it is in their nature that much of the work will be invisible to the teacher, and normal considerations are complicated by issues of group processes, you should always provide a written briefing which covers most of the possible eventualities (such as what happens if a group member is sick for a substantial part of the project), and be transparent about the procedures.  

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