DESCRIPTION

PURPOSE

',:.RELATED,TEACIIING

. .GOALS

SUGG~STlONSeOR:USE

CLASSROOMASSESSMENTTECHNIQUE

47

GrQUp:- WOrkEvaluations

Estirr'lat!itdLevels of TiJ'l'l.!itand £I1.!itrgyRequlr!itdfor:

Faqulty to prepare tou~e tqi$ CATStudents to respond to the.assessmentFaculty to analyzetl1e.pata collected

MEDIUMLOWLOW

Group-Work Evaluation forms are simple questionnaires used to collectfeedback on students' reactionsrocooperative learning (where students workin structured groups toward an agreed-upon learning goal) and studygroups.

As more and more faculty experiment with cooperative and collaborativelearning techniques, there is.more need for and interest in assessinggroupwork. Group-Work Evaluations can help students and teachers see what isgoing well and what is n()t going welUn learning groups, so that potentiallydestructive conflicts in groups can be discoveredand defused. At the sametime, this CATcan be used by faculty and students to gain insights into thegroup. process..

Develop'~ppropri;:J.testuslyskills;strategies, and habits (TGI Goal 16.)Develop ability to work productIvely with others (TGJ Goal 36.)Develop (self.) management skills (TGI Goal 37) .

Develop leadership skills (TGI G()al 38)Develop respect for others (TGI Goal 47)

Cultivate an active corpmitment to honesty (TGI Goal 50)

Group- Work Evaluations are most helpful in classes where students regularlywork in small groups, such as courses taught by the case method. Theassessments can be done when.ever the groups meet, and whether they meetin class or out. As is the case with many other CATs this technique should beintroduced'soon' after the groups begin working together, since it providesfeedback that cart inform their development and improve their effectiveness.

~MPLES. FromEnglishCompqsition(English)

Early in the term, this composition instructor organized her twenty-five

students into five groups of five each. Students were to remain in these

Techniques for Assessing Learner Reactions to Instruction 349

"

STEP-BY-STEPPROCEDURE

3$9

groups for half the term and then would be reassigned. The instructorused the groups in class for j)rewriting and revising exercises, andencouraged students to meet and study together outside of class time.For several years, she had noticed that some groups worked well andothers were a disaster, but she could not account for the differencesand did not knowhow to prevent the disasters. In an attemptto improveher understandingofthegroup dynamic, she decided to usethe Group-WorkEvaluationtechnique. .

At the next class meeting, she handed out a questionnaire (seeExhibit 9.2) and asked students to respond only after their half-hourgroup-work sessions hadended. Eachstudent was asked to write his orher group's number-I through V-on the sheets, but not to writenames.

Exhibit9.2.Sample~rbup-Work Evaluation Form.

1. Overall, how effectivelydid your group worktogether on this assignment?

Poorly Adequately Well Extremely well

2. Out of the five group members, how many participated actively most of thetime?

None One AllfivC'TVfo Three Four

3. Out of the five group members, how many were fully prepared for the activity? .

None One Two Three Four All five

4. Give one specificexample of somethin~ you learned from the group that youprobably wouldn't havelearned working alone. .

5. Give one specificexample of something the other group members learned fromyou that they probably wouldn't have learned otherwise,

6. Suggest one change the group could make to improve its performance.

She sorted the responses into their respective groups and thenquickly read and tallied each group's responses. Not too surprisingly,the groups that rated their,effectiyeness highest also indicated'a.higherlevel of participation and-preparation.The members of the more effec.tive groups were alsom()relikelyto give complete answers to questions4, 5, and 6. Inthe lesseffective grol!Ps, however,several individualshadthoughtful suggestions for improving performance. .

At the next classrneeting, the composition instructor shared asummary of the responsesahdlet the students draw their own conclu-sions-which were not very different from hers. She then shared thesuggestions and asked th-e groups to come up. with a,.feW simple,practical guidelines for more effective functioning.

1. Decide what you want to know about the group work and what youmost want smdentsto notice about it, and compose a few questions toget at that information.

2. Choose the most important questions, no more thin four or five, andcreate a simple Group-WorkEvaluation Form for collecting feedback.

CLASSR.OOMcASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES

..~~

TURNINGTHEDATA YOUCOLLECTINTOUSEFUL

INFORMATION

IDEASFORADAPTINGANDEXTENDING

THISCAT

PROS

CON$

,,'.

CAVEATS

3. Before handing out the formsjexplain the purpose of the,assessment

and the processto students. Ify;ouwant to analyzeresponsespygroups,make sure that the students somehowindicate the groupsthey belongto, without giving away their individual identities.

If possible, tally the fixed-responseanswer.sand summarize the commentswithin working groups first; then aggregatethe results acrossgroups. Scw.'tinize the feedbackfor indications that som~groups areworking particularlywell or poorly. Responsesfromthese "outlier" groups may provide cluesonhow to improve performance in all the groups.

.Ask the groupsthemselvesto comeup with questions they would like toassessthro'IJghd1eGroup~Work Evaluation process.. .

Have groups sp.ggestsolutions to the concerns raised through theassessment.

Co~cts. arevirtually inevitable in small groups. This CATprovidesasi1J1pkme~s £grdetectillg conflicts early, before they permanentlydamage the group dynamic.

At the~aI11e~ir,ne,this proce$Scanallpw theiQstwctqr and the studentsto findouteaily what is working well, hmv,and why-and to profitfrom that information.

From the instructor's summary of the feedback, students in all groupslearn that there are some cornmon advantages and disadvantages togroup work.

Giving students a chance to express concerns'V,r,ithgroupwork"1nay raise. expectatlqns.that you or they can quickly resolve them.

Some studen~s simply dislike working in groups and may use thisassessme~t exer~ise as an opponunity to sabotage the process.

Some students will almost surely resent the focus on "process" that thisCAT requires, preferring to expend their efforts sole!y 9B thecre-ationof "products" or "outcomes." . '.' .

c.

The social dynamic 9f small groups often works against candor whentl1i~gsarenot going well. Makeit clear that you expect and wanthonest answers,and find a wayto ensure that neither younor otherstUdentsc~identify individual respondents.

Techniques for Assessing Learner Reactions to Instruction 36'1