Group Work
as Assessment
Learning Transformation Unit
Designing and Facilltating Addressing Challenges Managing Groups Assessment
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Designing and Facilltating Addressing Challenges Managing Groups Assessment
Designing and facilitating assessment via Group Work
Group work activities are not dissimilar to other learning activities and assessments you may include in your
unit’s design. When designing a group work activity you should:
• Clearly articulate the link between the activity and your unit’s learning outcomes;
• Articulate what the ‘soft skills’ outcomes of the activity are supposed to be (e.g. collaboration); and
• Provide explicit instructions (along with a marking guide and/or rubric if the group work activity is assessable).
Group work poses unique challenges for staff in terms of designing group work activities, as well as for students
in terms of delivering upon group work activities. James, McInnis and Devlin note that “the design of assessment
is central to the educational effectiveness of groupwork” (2002, 5).
In this guide we will take you through some strategies for designing effective group work assessment activities,
as well as addressing some of the common pitfalls which can arise in group work scenarios.
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Designing and Facilltating Addressing Challenges Managing Groups Assessment
Challenges of Group Work
Selecting appropriate tasks for Group Work
It is a truism that Group Work is often not well received by students. Jean Mandernach of Grand Canyon Universi-
ty observes that this isn’t an issue specific to group work, but more a side effect of how group work activities are
designed. She notes:
“too often we give students an activity and call it group work when in reality it’s something they can do on
their own. […] Then we get frustrated when they don’t work together and just do the work on their own”
(from How to design effective online Group Work activities, 2010).
To counter this, Mandernach suggests that the “key is to design tasks that are truly collaborative, meaning the
students benefit more from doing the activity as a group than doing it alone” (from How to design effective on-
line Group Work activities, 2010).
Ensure your group work activity is one in which there is obvious buy-in for students to be oper-
ating as part of a group. Certain activities and assignments lend themselves to group work more
than others. Assignments which are complex in nature, encompass multiple viewpoints, require
a diversity of skillsets, and/or occur over a longer period lend themselves to group work activities
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more than essays and research reports. Examples could include: making a student film or devel-
oping a media campaign to raise awareness of a social issue.
Additional
Reading
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Designing and Facilltating Addressing Challenges Managing Groups Assessment
Scaffolding effective group work skills
We shouldn’t assume that our students come to university with an understanding of how to work in groups.
While many students have worked in group projects before, this doesn’t mean they know how to work in a group
effectively.
For a group work project to be successfully delivered, students will need the skills to be able to:
• Assess the nature and difficulty of a task;
• Break the task down into steps or stages;
• Plan a strategy;
• Manage time;
• Reach consensus;
• Solve conflict; and
• Integrate the contribution of multiple team members.
(from What are best practices for designing group projects, 2019)
Ensure that you allow in-class time to discuss project planning; talk to your students about establishing group
ground rules; alert students to common pitfalls (e.g. underestimating time involved in certain elements of the
project); and encourage your students to undertake self and team assessment as a part of the teamwork activity
(from What are best practices for designing group projects, 2019).
In order to address student murmuring about group work, why not ask your students to list both the
positive and manage experiences they may have had in the past with completing group work assign-
ments. Once all the negative experiences have been curated, you can, as a group, brainstorm strategies
to negative some of the potential challenges of group work. Incorporate these into the deliverables of
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your group work activity (for example, to alleviate concerns of ‘free-riders’ you can ask your students to
set internal intermediate deadlines, and/or to communicate via the use of Canvas groups where you can
maintain oversight).
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Designing and Facilltating Addressing Challenges Managing Groups Assessment
Managing Groups
One of the challenges of group work is determining the size of your student groups, as well as how you will
allocate your students into their groups. While there is no one correct way of approaching the management of
groups, the decisions you make have potential implications for how your student groups will function.
Group Size
Group size plays an important role in terms of group dynamics. Determining group size for an activity de-
pends on:
• the number of students within your cohort;
• the complexity and skillset of the assigned task;
• and the length of the activity.
Groups of two are generally not encouraged as they will be less likely to generate a “diversity of ideas” (Csernica
et. al 2002 cited in Burke, 2011). Usually groups of four to five will “balance the need for diversity, productivity,
active participation and cohesion” (from Implementing Group Work in the Classroom, 2019). The less experi-
enced your student cohort is, the smaller your student groups should be (although less than three can be a prob-
lem if students start to drop out of your unit).
Group Allocation
There is no one correct way to allocate your students into groups for the purposes of group work. There are four
main methods of group allocation. These are outlined in the following table, along with their corresponding ad-
vantages and disadvantages
Additional
Reading
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Designing and Facilltating Addressing Challenges Managing Groups Assessment
Group Allocation Strategies
Adapted from Forming Effective Groups, UTS 2019.
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Designing and Facilltating Addressing Challenges Managing Groups Assessment
Group Contracts
A group contract is a document you can provide to your students (which you can ask your students to develop)
outlining the roles, expectations, and contributions of all group members. A group contract should contain:
• Group members names, contact information and proposed meeting schedule;
• Expectations regarding frequency of meetings and location, meeting duration, expected behaviours, and pri-
mary method of communication;
• Where relevant, the roles and responsibilities of individuals within the group;
• An agreed to method of dealing with conflict and unmet expectations;
• A place for each group member to sign, to indicate that they agree to the terms of the contract; and
• A place for each group member to sign at the completion of the project to indicate that all group members
contributed as agreed to. This could be submitted alongside the group’s final submission (Hesterman, 2016,
5).
You can ask your students to use the Groups function in Canvas as their primary way of curating, com-
municating, and collaborating. By having visibility of your student’s conversations, agendas and out-
comes you may be able to see in advance if any of your groups are going off the rails. You can also
include artefacts and discussions you see occurring in Canvas as part of your assessment.
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Designing and Facilltating Addressing Challenges Managing Groups Assessment
Assessing Group Work
When using group work as an assessment strategy you need to carefully consider artefacts and outcomes you
will be assessing, and what criteria you will be basing that assessment upon. In group work you can assess the
final product, teamwork and collaboration (the process), and individual contributions of members based on roles
differently (but equitably).
Carnegie Mellon University have developed an excellent table which outlines the options for grading methods of
group work, along with their advantages and disadvantages. Some of these are outlined below:
Table adapted from Grading Methods for Group Work, Carnegie Mellon University.
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Designing and Facilltating Addressing Challenges Managing Groups Assessment
Self and Peer Assessment
The main aims of self and peer assessment when it comes to group work are to:
• Make students more visibly responsible for their outputs;
• Take students from being passive learners, to active within the assessment process;
• Involve students in critical reflection; and
• Develop in students a better understanding of their own subjectivity and judgement
(from Self and peer assessment, advantages and disadvantages, University of Sydney).
Students need to be prepared for self and peer assessment, in the same way that they need to be taught effec-
tive group work skills. It is recommended that you take some time in the first few weeks of class to introduce
your students to the concept of assessment against set criteria within the first few weeks of class, as well as talk
to your students about self and peer evaluation skills. Students can be assisted to” develop criteria that match
the learning outcomes with regards to the output and process of the group work” (from Self and peer assess-
ment, advantages and disadvantages, University of Sydney). Once these criteria have been established by your
students, your role in the self and peer assessment process can move to one of facilitator.
Additional
Reading
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References Additional Reading Quick Guide
References
Bart, M (2010) How to Design Effective Online Group Work Activities, Faculty Focus (online blog), located at:
https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/how-to-design-effective-online-group-work-activities/
Burke, A (2011) Group Work: How to Use Groups Effectively, The Journal of Effective Teaching, Vol. 11, No. 2, 87-
95, located at: https://uncw.edu/jet/articles/vol11_2/burke.pdf
Forming Effective Groups (n.d.) University of Technology Sydney, located at: https://www.uts.edu.au/re-
search-and-teaching/learning-and-teaching/enhancing/enhancing-experiences-group-work/forming
Grading Methods for Group Work (2019) Eberly Center, Carnegie Mellon University, located at: https://www.cmu.
edu/teaching/assessment/assesslearning/groupWorkGradingMethods.html
Hesterman, S. (2016). The digital handshake: A group contract for authentic elearning in higher education. Jour-
nal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 13(3), 1-24.
Implementing Group Work in the Classroom (n.d.) Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo, located
at: https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/alternatives-lecturing/
group-work/implementing-group-work-classroom
James, R., McInnis, C. and Devlin, M. (2002). Assessing Learning in Australian Universities. Centre for the Study of
High Education, University of Melbourne.
Self and peer assessment: advantages and disadvantages (n.d.) University of Sydney, available at: http://sydney.
edu.au/education_social_work/groupwork/docs/SelfPeerAssessment.pdf
What are best practices for designing group projects (2019) Eberly Center, Carnegie Mellon University, located at:
https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/teach/instructionalstrategies/groupprojects/design.html
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References Additional Reading Quick Guide
Additional Reading: Addressing Challenges
Hicks, C. (2011). Guiding Group Work: Activities to maximize student learning from group projects. Teaching Inno-
vation Projects, 1(1). Retrieved from https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/tips/article/view/3546
This PDF provides a workshop which you can conduct with your students, in order to address many of the ac-
knowledged challenges of group work (e.g. student attitude towards group work, working with your students to
develop a group charter, and conflict resolution.
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References Additional Reading Quick Guide
Additional Reading: Assessment of Group Work
Anson, R., & Goodman, J. A. (2014). A peer assessment system to improve student team experiences. Journal of
Education for Business, 89(2), 27–34.
The researchers developed an online peer assessment system that students gave high marks for its efficiency,
provision of high-quality feedback, and positive impact on team processes.
Sadler, D. R. (2010). Beyond feedback: Developing student capability in complex appraisal. Assessment & Evalua-
tion in Higher Education, 35(5), 535–550.
An interesting perspective on feedback in which the author proposes that students’ ability to make accurate judg-
ments about their own work and that of their peers develops through practice. It argues for peer assessment.
Gibbs, G. (2009). The assessment of group work: Lessons from the literature: A literature review conducted by
Graham Gibbs as Visiting Professor funded by the Assessment Standards Knowledge Exchange, Centre for Excel-
lence in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, The Business School, Oxford Brookes University.
This document provides a summary of how some group work issues are dealt with in the literature prior to 2009.
Topics covered include: construction of groups, ‘freeloading’, and assessment tactics.
LaBeouf, J. P., Griffith, J. C., & Roberts, D. L. (2016). Faculty and Student Issues with Group Work: What is Problem-
atic with College Group Assignments and Why?. Journal of Education and Human Development, 5(1). https://doi.
org/10.15640/jehd.v5n1a2
This article documents the results of a large research project to investigate perceptions towards group work from
both students and staff, in a tertiary setting. Results showed there is a mismatch in student and faculty percep-
tion in some areas. May give useful insight into some of the challenges students face when participating in group
work.
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References Additional Reading Quick Guide
Additional Reading: Managing Group Work
Freeman , S., Theobald, R., Crowe, A. J., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2017). Likes attract: Student self-sort in a classroom
by gender, demography and academic characteristics. Active Learning in Higher Education, 18(2), 115–126.
When students formed their own groups, they self-sorted to a small degree by academic characteristics and to a
large one by demographic traits. They tend not to form diverse groups.
Harding, L. M. (2018). Students of a feather “flocked” together: A group assignment method for reducing free-rid-
ing and improving group and individual learning outcomes. Journal of Management Education, 40(2), 117–127.
The researcher formed groups according to student schedules and willingness to devote time to the course; she
found that those groups performed better on group and individual assignments and reported less free-riding
than when students selected their group members.
Aaron, J. R., McDowell, W. C., & Herdman, A. O. (2014). The effects of a team charter on student team behav-
iors. Journal of Education for Business, 89(2), 90–97.
In this study, groups developed charters that outlined behavioral expectations, meeting management, and work
allocation. Doing so improved several different group processes and student satisfaction with the group experi-
ence.
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References Additional Reading Quick Guide
Group Work Quick Guide
This resource has an accompanying Group Work Quick
Guide, which provides a snapshot of the information
provided.
This Quick Guide is available on the LTU website.
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