Assessing Collaborative Learning

How should participation in collaborative learning community be assessed? How do varying levels of skill and knowledge students bring to a course affect the instructor’s “Fair and equitable assessment of learning”?

If a student does not want to network or collaborate in a learning community for an online course, what should the other members of the learning community do? What role should the instructor play? What impact would this have on his or her assessment plan?

According to Palloff and Pratt (2007), “one of the keys to good assessment of collaborative work online is that it be clear, easy to understand, and easy to carry out” (pp.50). Rubrics should be set up so that students have no difficulty assessing themselves and their peers. Successful collaborative assessment qualities include “learner-centered, teacher-directed, mutually beneficial, formative, context-specific, ongoing, and firmly rooted in good practice” (pp.41).

Participation in a collaborative learning community should be assessed on the individual efforts of each member, that while students are working as a team toward a common goal, each person is being graded upon his or her individual efforts, and team feedback regarding member participation should be included. In many of the courses at the online school where I am an administrator, teamwork assignments are set up in each course and represent a significant portion of the student grade. The instructor is asked to facilitate the process by answering student questions about the assignment and the process. If members of the team choose not to participate, the active members of the team are not penalized, and in many cases, the assignment requirements are modified so that one person is not completing the entire project on his or her own. Instead, that student will complete the portion of the assignment that they would have contributed if all members were participating successfully to the process. Students not participating are assessed according to the rubric, and awarded points accordingly.

One might say that if each person is completing individual assignment, then there is not much of a collaborative community. However, I would contend that if each person is aware that his or her contributions are being assessed individually, it takes the pressure off of the team as a whole, and, each person becomes a willing contributor to the overall project. A solid, clear rubric regarding project requirements and individual participation make for pretty successful team experiences.

The instructor acts as the mediator of group dynamics, attempting to bring the team together so that all members participate fully and are satisfied with the overall efforts of the team. By encouraging individuals to contribute to the process and make collective decisions about how each member will contribute, team members are more willing to engage in an actively collaborative process. Also, when students engage in contracts with each other regarding individual responsibilities, then students can gain confidence in the process, and again are more willing to contribute to the collaborative process. The instructor role in team management is essential; in many cases, the instructor is an additional team member with a vital role of ensuring the success of the team as a whole.

Reference:

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.