LTSE Online Teaching Tools Group Work Online Assessing Group Work

Assessing group work online

How to assess group work online

Since the ability to work well in a group process is an important graduate capability, it is important to assess both the quality of the final product and group process. The final product of a group process, such as an oral presentation or report, may reflect how well the group worked together.

For example, a cohesive group oral presentation will result from effective collaboration.

Criterion	Excellent 80-100%	Sound 65-79%	Satisfactory 50-64%	Unsatisfactory 0-49%
Group participation	Group members demonstrated a high level of collaboration. Transitions and content allocation between group members were well-planned and performed effectively.	Group members showed effective cooperation. Transitions and content allocation between group members shows evidence of planning.	Group members demonstrated sufficient contribution to the preparation and submission..	Group membership behaviour was obstructive, unreliable and/or showed insufficient contribution to the preparation.

However, often it is not obvious from the final product how well the group worked together. Students can evidence their achievement through:

Records of participation

Reflection on group work experience

Gibbs reflective cycle
Example reflective template based on Gibbs reflective cycle (DOCX, 16 KB)
Learning plan component to assessment task

Self and peer assessment of contributions

Both the individual component and group work can be assessed separately and combined to give an overall mark for the task. The following resources contain clearly written guidance and resources for group work that are applicable for an online context:

Group Work: How to Evaluate It (Cornell University)
Assessing Group Work (Carnegie Mellon University)
Example peer review question banks
Peer assessment of contributions template (DOCX, 15 KB)

Rubrics

These example rubrics can be tailored to suit online group assessments.

Contribution to discussion board
Cooperative and collaborative learning (Read, write, think)

Additional reading

Pillay, J., Ally, F. and Govender, N. (2019, September). Exploring opportunities for embedding graduate attributes in a first-year undergraduate anatomy course for allied health students BMC Medical Education (19)329 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-019-1777-6