Working in groups can be fraught with difficulties for teachers and students, it is valuable for students to learn many of the inter-personal skills required in the workplace.
Although working in groups can be fraught with difficulties for teachers and students, it is valuable for students to learn many of the inter-personal skills required in the workplace. Although students can find groups frustrating, it is still popular for assessments.
“…the most commonly reported difficulties affecting coherent group work were the behaviour of some members, and inconsistent standards of work and rates of work amongst others.” (Maiden, 2011)
Despite the difficulties generally students are enthusiastic about group work:
“Thirty‐six per cent of students ‘strongly agreed’ that team working was excellent, whilst 77% either ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’.” (Maiden, 2011)
Freeloaders: some methods for dealing with free-loaders in groups:
Given the issues related to freeloaders – people not pulling their weight, Maiden (2011) tested a range of strategies in an attempt to overcome this issue. Here are some of the strategies all of which were useful to varying degrees depending on the cohort.
Two‐card trick (derived from Abernethy and Lett 2005 Abernethy, M.A. and Lett, W.L. 2005. You are fired! A method to control and sanction free riding in group assignments. Marketing Education Review, 15(1): 47–54.
Teams identifying a poorly or non‐contributing member must challenge the individual and request that they amend their ways. If there is no change, a case may be made to the tutor, and if the complaint is upheld, a yellow card is issued to the offending student. If there is an improvement by an agreed date the card is rescinded; if unrescinded, the individual receives a lower grade than the rest of the group. Significant and continuing under performance can lead to the tutor issuing a red card resulting in the individual being excluded from the group and required to produce an individual piece of work.
Viva warning (derived from Rust 2001 Rust, C. 2001. A briefing on assessment of large groups, York: LTSN. (LTSN Assessment Briefing No. 12)
The early stages of this approach are similar to the two‐card trick and a tutor can issue a warning to a student. If the offending student amends his/her ways by an agreed date the warning can be rescinded. If un-rescinded, the student must meet with two tutors to answer questions on the group submission and the process leading to it. Unsatisfactory responses lead to the individual’s grade being adjusted downwards from the group mark.
Team‐led individual (derived from Rust 2001 Rust, C. 2001. A briefing on assessment of large groups, York: LTSN. (LTSN Assessment Briefing No. 12)
Individual students benefit from meaningful contributions to group work as a prelude to an individual submission. Teams of students produce a written submission upon which feedback but no grade is given by the tutor. Students then work alone to further develop the group work and produce an individual assignment.
Examination follow‐on (derived from Gibbs, Habeshaw, and Habeshaw 1993 Gibbs, G., Habeshaw, S. and Habeshaw, T. 1993. 53 Interesting ways to assess your students, Bristol: Technical and Educational Services.
There are two pieces of assessed work for the module, a group project and an examination. Students receive identical grades for the product of their group work but a subsequent individual examination requires reference to, or detailed knowledge of, the group project.
Divided mark (derived from Brooks and Ammons 2003 Brooks, C.M. and Ammons, J.L. 2003. Free riding in group projects and the effects of timing, frequency, and specificity of criteria in peer assessments. Journal of Education for Business, 78(5): 268–72.
At the end of the module students complete a questionnaire privately which includes an indication of the relative contributions of individual members. The product of the group work is graded and the cumulative returns from individuals decide an individual’s mark from an overall total mark.
80/20 Grading (derived from Rust 2001 Rust, C. 2001. A briefing on assessment of large groups, York: LTSN. (LTSN Assessment Briefing No. 12).
Group assessment is subject to five marking criteria one of which is individual contribution to group work. The product of the group work is graded by the tutor for four of the five criteria. The fifth is determined by the students themselves through the completion of a confidential questionnaire. (This was the least popular with teachers participating in the study as students tended to uniformly inflate the marks for their team members)
(Maiden, 2011)
Group activities which build group-work skills
For student to get the most out of group work in summative assessment it is valuable to build group work skills through activities, such as:
- Think-pair-share. Give students a question or problem and ask them to think quietly of an answer or solution. Have them discuss their responses with their neighbour, and then share them with the class.
You can also set the requirement that they come to a consensus or submit one piece of written work as a pair. Set a time limit of one or two minutes for the pair exchange. You can extend this format by having each pair in agreement join another pair in agreement to come to a consensus together.
- Pairs check. Partners coach each other on worksheet problems or check their class or reading notes for completeness and accuracy. This two minute activity is similar to the lecture break pair and compare.
- T.A.P.P.S. (talking aloud paired problem solving). Pairs of students solve a problem or resolve a case by taking turns playing different roles—one that talks through the process of reaching a solution, while the other listens, asks questions, and provides feedback.
- STAD. (student teams-achievement divisions). After a lecture, video, or demonstration, teams of three or four receive a worksheet to discuss and complete. When members feel that they have reached acceptable solutions, you give a brief oral or written quiz to the group, a representative, or each individual member to assess their mastery of the material. In her music theory class, Berry (2008) integrates STAD within the academic game Survivor. For the daily challenges, she distributes workbook exercises for the “tribes” to complete, then administers individual quizzes. These quiz scores are totalled for a tribal score. While tribes don’t vote off weak members, students perform diligently due to peer pressure, their personal pride, and their sense of responsibility to their tribe.
- Jigsaw. Each member of a “base group” is assigned a mini-topic to research. Students then meet in “expert groups” with others assigned the same mini-topic to discuss and refine their understanding.
The base groups re-form, and members teach their mini-topics to their teammates.
- Structured/academic controversy. Pairs in a group of four are assigned opposing sides of an issue. Each pair researches its assigned position, and the group discusses the issue with the goal of exposing as much information as possible about the subject. Pairs can then switch sides and continue the discussion.
- Group investigation. Assign each group or let each group choose a different topic within a given subject area. Groups are free to organize their work and research methods and even to determine the form of the final product, such as a video, play, slide show, website, demonstration, presentation, or paper.
- Numbered heads together. Assign a number to each member of a team of four. Pose a thought question or problem, and allow a few minutes for discussion. Call out a number, designating only students with that number to act as the group spokesperson. This exercise promotes individual accountability.
- Talking chips. This method guarantees equal participation in discussion groups. Each group member receives the same number of poker chips (or any other markers, such as index cards, pencils, or pens).
Each time a member wishes to speak, he or she tosses a chip into the center of the table. Once individuals have used up their chips, they can no longer speak. The discussion proceeds until all members have exhausted their chips. Then they reclaim their chips and begin another round.
- Send a problem. Each group member writes a question or problem on a flash card. The group reaches consensus on the correct answer or solution and writes it on the back. Each group then passes its cards to another group, which formulates its own answers or solutions and checks them against those written on the back by the sending group. If groups disagree, the receiving group writes its answer as an alternative. Stacks of cards continue to rotate from group to group until they are returned to the original senders, who then examine and discuss any alternative answers or solutions given by other groups.
- Group tests. Each student takes a quiz or test individually and hands it in for a substantial portion (one-half or two-thirds) of her quiz or test grade. Then students assemble into groups and take the same quiz or test again as a team, turning it in for the remaining portion of their grade. In most cases, the team scores exceed the individual scores and raise the students’ grades. As a near-daily activity in team learning, this technique is called a readiness assessment test (Michaelsen, 1997–1998). Generally the quiz or test is objective, but it doesn’t have to be. Group tests not only give students’ quick feedback on their individual thinking and answers, but they also make the students review, discuss, and debate the material, processing it at a higher level.
Not surprisingly, this technique improves students’ retention of the course content over individual tests. (Nilson, 2010)
More help…
There is some interesting how-to guidance on working with groups in Nilson (Teaching at its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors, 2010) Chapter 16.
References
Maiden, B. a. (2011). Dealing with free-riders in assessed group work: results from a study at a UK university. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 36(4), 451-464.
Nilson, L. (2010). Teaching at its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.