Assessing group work 

Assessment tasks must be designed to assess students’ achievement of the unit learning outcomes. If teamwork skills are stated explicitly in the learning outcomes, they must be learned, demonstrated and assessed using pre-determined criteria. It is important that students understand why group-based assessment is appropriate for that task, and teaching staff should take time to explain this. Refer to the Assessing by Group Work webpage Links to an external site. and The assessment of group work: Lessons from the literature [pdf, 210KB] Links to an external site..

Group work can help develop students’ generic skills such as: 

  • teamwork skills (working with team dynamics, leadership);
  • analytical and cognitive skills (analysing task requirements, questioning, critically interpreting material, evaluating the work of others); 
  • collaborative skills (conflict management and resolution, accepting intellectual criticism, flexibility, negotiation and compromise); and
  • organisational and time management skills. 

There are three main dimensions to the assessment of group work: 

  1. demonstrated ability to work effectively as a team member (process); 
  2. demonstrated application of knowledge for successful task completion (process); and 
  3. the quality of the group’s output (product). 

Groups can be asked to produce tangible products, such as posters, models or artefacts, formal reports and electronic, or other forms of media. They can also be asked to submit records of meetings, planning sheets or other monitoring documents as evidence of their progress. The output can also include a performance or seminar presentation. Group assessment can be conducted by external experts in the field, colleagues, groups of peers, or through self-assessment. This allows multiple perspectives of student work and reduces the chance of bias. 

Students need to be taught how groups function and be given the opportunity to practice group work skills before they are assessed (refer to the Guide to group work Links to an external site. website and PETS - Proactively ensuring team success Links to an external site. resource). Students need to know what will happen should one or more group members withdraw, or if one or more contributes so little that it jeopardises the likelihood the group can complete its task. Students also need to be informed of the appeal process should the group not be able to negotiate among themselves the distribution of marks. 

Students must know how incidents of academic misconduct, such as plagiarism or collusion, can occur in group work, and how they can be avoided. Students must be given explicit guidelines on what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in terms of collaborative versus individual work, particularly when they are assessed in groups. More information on academic integrity, including plagiarism and collusion is addressed later in this module.

What are the rules for group work assessment? 

 

Image source: https://pixabay.com/en/workplace-team-business-meeting-1245776/