Module 3 post
Assessing Collaborative Efforts
Palloff (2007) describes learning as an active process in
which both learners and teachers are involved in the learning process. In my classrooms I have provided several
opportunities for my students to work collaboratively in the classroom
realizing that when they finally graduate from high school and enter the real
world they are not going to be an island unto themselves but will be forced to
work with other individuals. As I place
the students into teams I try to monitor the efforts of each teammate to
determine if there are any problems. Usually
there will be one student who will become the leader of the group and yet another
student who will try to coast through the assignment without doing
anything.
The question becomes how to you properly assess their work
both as a group and as an individual, when do you as an instructor step in to
correct any administrative problems.
Dr. Siemen (2008) suggest that the grading policies reflect
the following three elements ; students should be assessed by their peers in
the learning group, receive feeback for their learning communities and grades
should be based upon their contributions.
There will be however, students who will not want to contribute to their
team and be expected to reap the grade of the group. If this happens it is up to the instructor to
step in and visit with the students and inform them that if they are not
actively involved then they will fail the project.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Assessment of
collaborative learning. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building
online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Tim,
ReplyDeleteDo you feel that the education that we are receiving at Walden would be what Seimens is looking for and talking about?
Tim,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog entry. I also try to monitor the efforts by each student. In the past, I have distributed surveys that allow students the opportunity to identify the strengths and weaknesses within the group. The surveys also allow students to address any issues they are facing with the group. I have found this to be very useful in determining which student does not contribute to the group assignments.
Janel'