Page 14 - Formal learning groups-Self Paced Guide

Chapter 3: Assessing Collaborative work in Formal Learning Groups:

Tips & Tools

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this chapter you should be able to:

 Discuss the importance of assessing collaborative work
 Develop an assessment plan for collaborative work
 Create rubric, group process, peer, and self-evaluation

forms

Overview of Assessment & Evaluation for collaborative work
Assessing collaborative work gives lecturers an understanding of how students are

progressing within their learning groups. Assessment can be either formative or summative.

Formative assessment is often used to provide continuous feedback on collaborative work.

For example, the group can submit drafts of their group paper or other group work for

feedback before it is due. This type of assessment is usually not graded.

Summative assessment focuses on the evaluation of work at the end of the learning task.

For example, if the learning task took the form of a group paper, the work is evaluated, and

grades are assigned.

“In collaborative learning, there are two things to evaluate: student achievement of course

content and student participation in the group process.” (Barkely, Major & Cross, 2014, p.

102) Lecturers are free to choose any assessment model that is suitable for learning tasks.

However, selecting a mixed-approach to assess group work can enhance the quality of the

assessment process. A mixed approach combines the grading of individual contributions and
the overall group performance of the learning task. This combination gives the final score

for the group task.

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