Assessing the Efficacy of Group Work Using a Group Work Assessment Framework

Abstract

Group work as a learning activity in education is to enhance students’ content knowledge and develop social skills. The minimal individual and group accountability has often led to only a few students working towards achieving the group goals. Research has suggested taking care of the task design and assessment to achieve the efficacy of group work. Towards this, a Group Work Assessment Framework (GAF) is proposed. The GAF consists of a detailed roadmap of planning, implementation, and assessment taking into account the task design and assessment with specific guidelines for teachers and students. A participatory design to develop and implement the GAF was applied. Six tutors as designers and 11 tutors as implementors were involved. A total of 221 students and 8 tutors participated in the survey and interviews. The findings indicate that GAF enhanced individual and group accountability. The assessment of the group work was found to be fair as each student was marked based on his/her contribution and collaboration using evidence like meeting minutes, meeting attendance, recording, and student consultation. The study findings may provide an empirical base for policy directives to implement GAF in higher education to enhance students’ learning and develop social skills. A study may be carried out after a few cycles of implementation for any revision in the GAF.