How to fairly assess members of a collaboration can be very challenging as Siemens (2008) reminds us in his video. For a long time education has been focused on the success of individuals and now has to be transformed to evaluate group efforts. One point that stood out in the video was Siemens stating that "not all assessments require a grade." He was referring to the use of online communities, such as this, where students are engaged in an online dialogue with other professional on a given topic. I feel that online communities could be a valuable tool in assessing an individuals role in teamwork. I think of the online community as the board room where everyone gets together to share their concerns. Yet, if participating in such an activity is required, the parameters and expectations must be clearly stated by the instructor (Paoloff & Pratt, 2005). Siemens (2008) also discussed being fair and equitable in assessing collaborations. One may tend to give the person who made tremendous growth during a course a higher grade than the person who made less improvement but had a significant impact in the course dialogue because of points raised. These two examples should not be compared in terms of quantity or who did more, but instead on the added value brought to the team and the discussions.
To ensure that all members participate in team collaborations, I think its important for instructors to do more than just provide guidelines and expectations. In this setting you're still dealing with people of different personalities and learning styles and that needs to be taken into consideration. Palloff & Pratt (2005) offered several suggestions to increase participation but one thing that stood out was involving the learner in the assessment process. This helps learners take ownership in their learning. Helping to establish expecations and rubrics that are designed to evaluate individual and team performance should increase member participation on a collaborative team.
References
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Siemens, G. (2008). Assessment of collaborative learning. Vodocast. Laureate Education, Inc.
I agree that learning online or face to face- the instructor must effectively develop strateries to dealing with diverse learners. Authenic assessment, project base learning and portofolio are alternative routes that closes the achievement gaps on the diverse learners. I like your statement "establish expectations"-it is goal for all teachers. ~Carolyn
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