Assessing group work
Group work helps students develop collaboration skills that will help them in their future careers.
Introduction
Group work provides valuable opportunities for students to develop important skills. Collaboration is a significant component of many careers. For students to develop the skill of collaboration, it is important to both provide opportunities (e.g., a group project) and meaningful feedback and assessment.
Preparing students for group work
When introducing group work to students, it is important to be transparent about how that group work will be assessed.
Specifically:
- Will the product and/or process be assessed?
- Will the group work be assessed by the instructor and/or group members?
- Will marks be individually or group assigned?
- Will roles be assigned to group members by the instructor, or will group members be expected to work together or negotiate roles?
- These are some of the questions that are necessary to address when designing and communicating the nature of how group work will be assessed.
Strategies for assessing group work
When considering how to assess group work, McCrea and colleagues (2016) suggest that instructors use learning outcomes to guide their selection of assessment strategies. In other words, an assessment strategy should make sense given the intended purpose of having students work in groups. They suggest three categories worth considering depending on whether the focus is on the person, process, or product. Explore these categories and accompanying examples below.
Assessing individual knowledge or performance (person)
Below are some strategies shared by McCrea et al. (2016, p. 5-6) that can be used for assessing or partially assessing group work with person-related outcomes:
- Individual exam/assignment, subsequent to group process: Marks are allocated to individuals based on their performance in a subsequent individual assignment/exam based solely on subject matter of group activity.
- Individual task-based grade: Marks are awarded to individual students for a task they performed for the group project.
- Self-assessment: Students evaluate their own contribution by reference to pre-set criteria, and award themselves a mark which is moderated by an instructor.
- Group mark adjusted for individual performance: Assigning a group grade that is adjusted to an extent for individual performance. For example, a group enters an oral presentation with the same grade, but each student leaves the presentation plus/minus up to 20% based on answering questions focused on the group task.
- Group mark with peer-adjusted individual grade: Assigning a shared group grade, but individual grades are adjusted using peer assessment.
Please see McCrea et al. (2016, p. 5-6) to learn more about the pros and cons of each of the above strategies.
Assessing interpersonal and team skills (process)
Below are some strategies shared by McCrea et al. (2016, p. 6-8) that can be used for assessing or partially assessing group work with process-related outcomes:
- Group average grade, based on individual parts: Each member submits an individual report on their individual group task. Final grade is the average grade for all work submitted.
- Group mark adjusted for individual performance: Assigning a group grade that is adjusted to an extent for individual performance. For example, a group enters an oral presentation with the same grade, but each student leaves the presentation plus/minus up to 20% based on answering questions focused on the group task.
- Group mark with peer-adjusted individual grade: Assigning a shared group grade, but individual grades are adjusted using peer assessment.
- Students decide grade from pool of marks: Instructor awards pool of marks and lets the group decide how to distribute them. Limits can be set on extent to which marks can vary within the group.
- Random peer assessment using pre-set criteria: Students are randomly allocated other students’/groups’ assignments to assess using pre-set criteria. Marks allocated are moderated by the instructor.
- Anonymous peer evaluation: Students anonymously mark other students’ assignments using pre-set criteria.
Please see McCrea et al. (2016, p. 6-8) to learn more about the pros and cons of each of the above strategies.
Assessing group performance or artefacts (product)
Below is a strategy shared by McCrea et al. (2016, p. 8) that can be used for assessing group work with product-related outcomes:
- Single group grade: All members receive the same grade based on one group submission.
Please see McCrea et al. (2016, p. 8) to learn more about the pros and cons of the above strategy.
Sample assessment forms, rubrics, and tools
Sample group project tools [various] (Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation, n.d.)
Additional resources
Davidson, N., & Major, C. H. (2014). Boundary crossings: Cooperative learning, collaborative learning, and problem-based learning. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 25(3/4), 7-55.
Educational Development. (2013). Guidelines for group work and its assessment. Plymouth University.
Finelli, C. J., Bergom, I., & Mesa, V. (2011). Student teams in the engineering classroom and beyond: Setting up students for success. CRLT Occasional Papers, 29, 1-12.
Holmes, N., & Treibergs, K. (2022, February 24). Supporting equity among students in group work. The Times Higher Education.
Taylor, A. (2011). Top 10 reasons students dislike working in small groups… and why I do it anyway. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 39(3), 219-220.
Teaching and Learning Services. (2020). Using peer assessment to make teamwork work. McGill University.
References
Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation. (n.d.). Sample group project tools. Carnegie Mellon University.
McCrea, R., Neville, I., Rickard, D., Walsh, C., & Williams, D. (2016) Facilitating group work: A guide to good practice. Dublin: Technological University Dublin.
Office of Academic Integrity. (n.d.). Group work. University of Waterloo.
Contact us - The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning
The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning
65 Dafoe Road
University of Manitoba, Fort Garry Campus
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Canada
Room S204B, Medical Services Building, 744 Bannatyne Avenue
University of Manitoba, Bannatyne Campus
Winnipeg, MB R3E 0W2 Canada
204-474-8708
204-474-7514