Assessment Design to Facilitate Groupwork and Collaborative Learning HEA/ICS Annual Conference, Kent, 2009 Vincent Perer

1. Assessment Design to Facilitate Groupwork and Collaborative Learning HEA/ICS Annual Conference, Kent, 2009 Vincent Perera School of Engineering and Information Sciences Middlesex University

2. ABSTRACT The paper is based around innovations during the development of a new module where there have been opportunities to define content and design modes of delivery, assessment and feedback. Group work and collaborative learning have been an important part of the course. With individual work there is always a group element to facilitate collaborative learning. Conversely, with group work, the assessment design ensures that individual work is adequately rewarded. This has been achieved by a method of grading the product of activities as well as the process by which it had been achieved. The emphasis throughout is that of a constructivist approach where students build on knowledge incrementally. The paper also draws on ideas behind systems thinking to validate the approach taken. Statistical Analysis of grades and other qualitative information including students responses are used to critique as well as suggest improvements for the future. Keywords Groupwork,Collaborative Learning,Constructivist Approach, Assessment, Feedback

3. ‘CONTEXT’ • UndergraduateSecond Year Module: • ‘Object Oriented Analysis and Design’ • Why Change • Current Work… Difficulties… • Future..Anticipated Changes • Issues?

4. Why Change One ‘problem’ for example, with the ‘predecessor’ module Passes and Failures almost the same ‘volume’ but failures accounted for 30% only in number!

5. Current Work (1) Outline • Short Lecture/General Feedback (1 Hour max) • Long 2 hour practical session split into: • Seminar/Review Questions followed by • Lab Exercise plus on-line submission task Most labs have a seminar ‘area’ as well

6. Current Work (2) – Weekly Activity Sheet Format • Week 7 Activity Sheet • Review Questions for discussion (See Bennett Page 72): • What are the basic notational elements of class diagrams? • What are the purposes of drawing class diagrams? Define what is meant by a class? • Define what is meant by an attribute? What is the basic notation for an attribute? What other properties can an attribute definition include? • Define what is meant by an operation. What is the basic notation for an operation? What is the notation for parameters of operations? • What is meant by association between classes? • What is the basic notation for a labelled association? • What is meant by multiplicity? What is the notation for multiplicity? • What is an abstract class? What is their use at the analysis/design stage (even if a programmer does not exactly implement it this way!) • Problems (Based on Schach P 97 Ex. 5.5): • Consider an automated library circulation system. Every book has a bar code and every borrower has a card bearing a bar code. When a borrower wishes to check out a book, a librarian enters C at the computer terminal, then scans the bar codes on the book and the borrower’s card. Similarly when a library book is returned, a librarian enters R and the book is again scanned. Librarians can add books to the library collection or remove them. Librarians and borrowers can go to a terminal and determine the books in the library by a given author, all the books with a specific title or all the books in a specific subject area. If a borrower wants a book checked out, a librarian can place a hold on the book so that, when it is returned, it will be held for the borrower who requested it. • Suggest suitable classes • Taking at least three suitable classes, draw a Class Diagram (CLD) • You should keep a record of your effort for your portfolio. Review Questions followed by a Weekly Activity to complete and submit on-line

7. Current Work (3) - Individual Coursework Coursework Group Student A Student B Student C • Case Study: • Options • Hotel Reservations • Emergency Ambulance Dispatch • Estate Agency Portfolio • Car Parking Reservations • or a Work Based Case Study… Individual Activities Completed during Lab Sessions Share conceptual knowledge but needs to apply individually to own Case Study - similar activities Most individual work (in worksheets) based around a single case study, each student works within a group

8. Current Work (4) - Portfolio Individual Work (and any extended tasks) gets stored as an individual portfolio of performance

9. Current Work – A further example 5 1 1 2 3 4 2 What the student knows 4 What the student ‘researches’ and finds out 3 5

10. Current Work – A further example continued 1 5 1 2 3 4 2 4 3 5 What the student now knows What the student ‘creates’

11. Current Work – Group Coursework Student A Student B Student C Own Case Study Negotiate Requirement Specification Individuals take lead role for each activity + presentation/dissemination but the whole group contributes Coursework Group Activity A Activity B Activity C • Grading: • 50% for Individual effort for Activity (CONTENT) • 50% for contribution to group activities plus reflective observations plus presentation (PROCESS) Each ‘Specialist’ spreads her knowledge within group

12. Current Work – group activities 50% for contribution to group activities plus reflective observations plus presentation (PROCESS) Inception Phase (10%) Elaboration Phase (10%) Inception Phase (10%) Double Marked Group Presentation (20%) Additional opportunity to receive feedback

13. Current Work – group activities • Collaboration • Communication – meetings, blogs … • Creating or finding own Case Study essential to activity • All Group (as well as individual) activities are assessed • Activities based around enquiry/active learning • Individual/group feedback including at lectures A variety of case studies… Beauty Parlour … Fruit and Vegetable merchant…

14. Current Work – Mid Course progress test • Treated as a weekly activity for the purpose of marks • Gives a further opportunity for students to do a second coursework “Whatever you do don’t get rid of the progress test… that is when I really woke up and started working” Student (Ivalyo)

15. Current Work… Difficulties • Attendance…good but… • Large Case Study at the start?? • Workload (16 Weekly submissions X 175 students) + (50 group coursework) + (1 whole week of coursework presentations) + progress test …over assessment? • Communication and retaining consistency with parallel programs at partner institutions IBL is not easy…creates more work for both students and teachers… Effort worthwhile!

16. Future..Anticipated Changes • Smaller case studies at the start … settling in and group forming period • Smaller ‘derived’ activities (makes marking more manageable!) – feedback immediate • Group work meeting with tutor incorporated into schedule to benefit from feedback - student suggestion (Alice) • Move the student presentation into (3) above so that students submit work having acted on feedback - colleague's suggestion (Chris) • Bring an element of peer assessment into groupwork - internal moderator’s suggestion (Harjinder) • Give more ‘weight’ to the progress test – say, worth 2 weekly submissions as opposed to the one at present?

17. Coursework Grades: Graph of Individual Vs Groupwork

18. May 2009Changes!

19. (1) Finding out (2) Model building … (3) Discussing/debating (4) Defining/taking action Relating Steps and Stages to Checkland

20. Summing up then… Task Team Individual Based around ‘Effective Innovation’ by John Adair

21. Thanks