by Patrick Dodd
What are the components of an effective group? Why do some groups thrive while others fail? Google’s People Operations Department wanted answers to these questions and commissioned a research project to find out. After several years of research and studying their own teams, Google’s research team found that while there are several behaviours that are important for...
by Patrick Dodd
Assigning group work in higher education isn’t about reducing the grading workload for teachers. When done right, group work can be a powerful teaching tool. There are four key benefits of why educators should assign group work: Enable students to perform at higher intellectual levels Provide exposure to new and different perspectives Achieve higher personal satisfaction Prepare students...
by Patrick Dodd
“Collaborative learning teaches students to work together when the stakes are relatively low so that they can work together effectively later on when the stakes are high,” Kenneth Bruffee. There are many benefits to effective group work. Kenneth Bruffee summarises one key benefit well. The ability to work collaboratively is not an innate skill. It must be...
by Patrick Dodd
When conducting group work, it’s essential to give feedback early in the project. This gives students time to improve before their final mark is provided at the end of the term. The most valuable feedback a student can receive when conducting group work is not from an educator, however, it is from their peers. What’s the issue...
by Patrick Dodd
When we first introduce the group assignment to our students we establish our expectation for professional teamwork delivered by all teammates. We emphasise that we will adjust individual grades fairly, proportional to the peer-assessed contribution of each teammate to their team's delivered outputs. In short, we let the students know that we will be holding them accountable...
by Patrick Dodd
The ‘digital future has zoomed into reality’ as Enda Curran writes in Bloomberg. However, some teachers are challenged to deploy group assignments when their students are physically isolated. Furthermore, some students may be constrained in their ability to use virtual teaming and related digital technologies. Nevertheless, we suggest that in higher education, building students’ competence working together in...
by Patrick Dodd
Peer Assess Pro has just released a new version update. The key software features are more comprehensive email notifications, a survey notifications history, and auto-selection of the Normalised Personal Result when you enter your team results. Comprehensive email notifications The information in email notifications to students and teachers has been improved. For each notification to both students...
by Patrick Dodd
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu_aUSA0Pvc&list=PLrrxmJ7TOi8OFSeWaDKoxlKaF5B2fk6ay[/embed] In situations of group work, how do we - Raise group members’ employability competencies - Minimise free-riding - Identify dysfunctional team behaviour - Calculate a fair grade or bonus based on contribution, leadership, and teamwork? We propose that conducting at least two peer assessments, one formative then one summative is the best practice solution for raising...
by Patrick Dodd
The reinforcing effect of peer feedback on team effectiveness, academic performance and employability in student teams Teamwork is often used in academic settings to help improve students’ academic performance whilst developing valued career-ready competencies such as teamwork, communications, project management and leadership[1]. These academic and employability benefits do not arise spontaneously just because students are working on...
by Patrick Dodd
How does peer assessment and feedback contribute to better team results and raised employability? Our three-stage model of the feedback process suggests four factors are in play: Academic achievement (Team and personal results), Perceptions of fairness, and employability. Stage 1 Traditional group project In the traditional group project, all team members usually share the same team result,...
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