Group Assessment

Group Assessment


Groupwork can provide students with opportunities to develop skills and qualities which are important for their long term future. The problems associated with assessing group work are also well documented. The main concerns for staff and students seem to be the allocation of marks across the group, the nature of the task to be assessed and the problem of freeloaders. You can find more information on all of these topics by following the links below.


General guidance


	Allocating the groups
	Providing information on the assessment task
	Avoiding the freeloader problem
	Assessing students' group working skills

Links on group assessment

	Group Work and Assessment in Media Production This website has been produced by a HEFCE funded project GWAMP (Group Work Assessment in Media Production), which involved the University of Bournemouth, University of Gloucestershire, John Moores University and London Metropolitan University. The project provides a number of case studies and examples of good practice.

	Assessing Group Practice (Drama)
	This website has been produced by a HEFCE Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning (FDTL). The project was managed by the Central School for Speech and Drama. It looks specifically at assessing the Performance Arts but in providing a number of case studies on assessing and evaluating group practice, it raises a range of issues which will be relevant to other disciplines. It provides an extensive list of resources to support staff in designing group work activities. It also provides materials for half-day and full-day workshops and 90 minute exercises, which could be adapted by other disciplines.

	Assessing Group Work (History)

	This detailed website was produced as part of a HEFCE funded FDTL project at Sheffield Hallam University. The project was run by the Department of History which has been using group work successfully for a number of years. This website contains a number of case studies, which provide examples of how to structure group activities and how to breakdown the assessment methods. A guidebook for tutors has been produced which provides examples of feedback sheets for group work and presentations in the Humanities. Sheffield Hallam University have also produced the Key Skills Online package, which has been available to students at Essex since 2001 - 02.


	Assessment of individuals in teams (LTSN Engineering) (PDF file)

	The LTSN for Engineering established a Working Group to investigate the assessment of group work. This link will direct you to the five case studies published as a result of the Working Group (2002).


	Key Skills Online (KSOL)

	The Key Skills Online software has been developed by Sheffield Hallam University. It provides guidance for students on the full range of key skills, including group working skills. If you would like any more information on KSOL, please contact Terry Barry, Careers Office.

	A Briefing on the Assessment of Large Groups (RTF document)

	This Generic Centre resource was prepared by Chris Rust, Oxford Brookes University and provides information on the major assessment issues of larger classes along with six case studies.

	Assessing Group Work

	This LTSN Physical Sciences resource was prepared by Paul Chin and Tina Overton and provides advice and examples on group assessment

	Self and Peer Assessment of Group Projects in a Virtual Environment
	(LTSN Engineering) (PDF file)

	The Report presents the findings of a study completed with 2nd year Chemical engineering students who were arranged into small groups based on their character types and given tasks to perform in a newly developed virtual reality environment. Students evaluated their own performance and the performance of other students in the group. These assessments have been compared with objective measures of success in the task performance and a video log of the contributions made by each group member. The Report considers how the character type effects the groups perceptions and discusses the peer and self-assessment methods used.

	Enhancing Transferable Skills Development in Group Projects (LTSN Engineering) (PDF file)

	This project was concerned with an enhanced approach to the development of transferable skills within group projects. The skills to be developed are identified and the students undertake a series of focused participative skills training exercises before embarking on their application within the main project. This approach was trialed within the Department and the report reflects on how this approach has helped and considerations for other academics who may want to introduce a similar scheme.