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A: Shared Group Grade While the lecturer may not have much idea about individual students Contributions to a group project, the students themselves are in a very good position to make such judgements. The teacher can only award a mark to the group, the members of that group can be left to distribute the mark between them in a way, which they think, reflects the relative contributions of individuals. For example if a group of five students were to be awarded 60% for a group report, they would be given 5x60 = 3000 marks to distribute amongst themselves. There are three ways in which groups tend to react in this situation: Some groups will agree at the start of the project that all marks will be shared equally at the end, in order to avoid unpleasantness. Other groups will not discuss assessment at all until it comes to dividing up the marks. They then find that they disagree about the basis upon which the marks should be divided. Without prior agreement about criteria there are likely to be arguments about who should get what marks for which contributions; Some groups will sit down at the start and decide what criteria they will use in allocating marks, and will keep to these criteria. Everyone will be clear about what their contribution ought to be, and will be more likely to accept the final allocation of marks. It is crucial, that the criteria are made clear and accepted at the start of the project, and not pulled out of thin air at the end. B: Peer Assessment of Contribution to Group One solution to the problems associated with assessment of group project work - of unfairness to individuals, high average marks, and narrow bands of marks - is to weigh an individual's marks according to his/her contribution to the group's work. Contributions are best judged by the group itself. PEER ASSESSMENT OF CONTRIBUTION TO GROUP - RATING SHEET Student ………………………….has contributed to the group's work in the following ways:
More or less sever penalties could be devised either by varying the number of criteria used, of by varying the penalties associated with criteria. The relative importance of criteria can be reflected in different penalties, as in the example. The criteria and size of penalties can be negotiated with the students, or even determined by tem, at the start of the project so that they are aware of how they will be assessed, and have a commitment to the criteria. The criteria used here are for illustration only: other criteria concerning creativity, supportiveness in the group, or ability to keep deadlines could equally be used. The average rating for each individual is then deducted from the group mark and allocated to that individual as her mark.
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