This page outlines what students can and cannot do during group assessments, how to mark them fairly, and how to maintain academic integrity. Use this as a guide when planning, managing, and marking group work.
What students can and cannot do during group assessment
When you are designing and writing your assessments, follow these guidelines when it comes to meeting learning outcomes for every student. Provide each group a list of things they need to tick when completing group assessments. Here are a few:
- All students must meet all learning outcomes. Do not split outcomes between group members.
- Individual parts of assessments must be completed alone.
- Communicate regularly. Record discussions and meetings. Log your own contributions.
- Group work must be balanced. No one should control or dominate the group. This does not lead to extra marks.
- Attend group meetings on time and be prepared.
- Work co-operatively and respect each other’s roles.
- Let your lecturer know if group members are not contributing.
- Be mindful of cultural, personality, language, social, and location differences. Everyone brings different strengths.
- You might not get along straight away. That’s normal. Keep working together.
- Keep your own meeting log. Note what was discussed and what you contributed. This helps with individual marking.
Marking group assessments
When it comes to marking group assessments, consider the following points:
- One person usually submits the group work. Individual components (like reflections or self-assessments) must be submitted separately.
- If submitted through Canvas, use SpeedGrader. It allows you to adjust individual marks.
- Use the rubric. Mark group tasks as a group, individual tasks individually.
- A strong group submission does not always mean equal contribution. Check the individual work for this.
Academic Integrity in group assessment
- Academic integrity applies to group work too.
- Explain clearly what students can and can’t reuse or share.
- Each student is assessed individually on how well they meet the learning outcomes. They can’t do everything as a group.
- Use Turnitin for individual work if needed. See Knowledge Base for guidance.
- A single group mark is not enough to show that all students met the learning outcomes.
- Make sure students understand how their individual efforts will be assessed if group work breaks down.