Transcript Slide 1

Assessing Student-Student Collaboration
(Promises and Perils of Assigning and
Grading Group Work, aka, Cooperative
Learning or Cheating?)
Karl A. Smith
Engineering Education – Purdue University
Civil Engineering - University of Minnesota
[email protected]
http://www.ce.umn.edu/~smith
Annual Conference on
Case Study Teaching in Science
October 6-7, 2006
Session Overview
• Introductions – session, facilitator, participants
– Developed with Stan Soffin, Michigan State University
• Survey of group grading practices
• Advantages & Disadvantages of group
assignments/grades
• Problems reported to MSU Ombudsman Office
concerning group grades
• MSU Student Group Work Guidelines
• Group work grading advice
Group Assignment/Grading Practices
• Assign Group Projects/Homeworks/?
• Percentage of Grade based on group work
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<10%
10-20%
20-30%
>30%
• Assess Individual Contributions to Group
Work? How?
• Other?
Instructional Techniques1
Engineering
Faculty
78%
All Faculty
Extensive
54%
lecturing
Class
45
70
discussion
Graduate TAs
18
6
Cooperative
14
27
learning
Percent of those using the technique in all or
most classes
Astin, Alexander W. 1993. Engineering outcomes. ASEE PRISM, 3(1), 27-30.
Advantages of Assigning Group Work
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Advantages of Assigning Group Work
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Students know one another
Provides a sense of realism for the fields they’ll go to
Illustrative of class material, e.g., organizational communication
Distributes the workload for complex projects
Exposes students to opinions other than their own
Students learn team-based skills
Increases interaction in the classroom
Fewer projects to grade
Process advantage for the student
Multiculturalism
Much more dynamic classroom, students are engaged
Breaks up the monotony
Learning the art of compromise
Makes it easier to deal with large classes and large labs
Ends up being better for presenting work to the rest of the class
You can do more complex, rigorous learning with more advanced projects
Get students out of the classroom – community,
Sometimes students do a better job of explaining concepts than we do
Students can learn from other students work habits
Cooperative Learning Research Support
Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., & Smith, K.A. 1998. Cooperative learning returns to
college: What evidence is there that it works? Change, 30 (4), 26-35.
• Over 300 Experimental Studies
• First study conducted in 1924
• High Generalizability
• Multiple Outcomes
Outcomes
1. Achievement and retention
2. Critical thinking and higher-level
reasoning
3. Differentiated views of others
4. Accurate understanding of others'
perspectives
5. Liking for classmates and teacher
6. Liking for subject areas
7. Teamwork skills
Small-Group Learning:
Meta- analysis
Springer, L., Stanne, M. E., & Donovan, S. 1999. Effects of small-group learning on
undergraduates in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology: A meta-analysis.
Review of Educational Research, 69(1), 21-52.
Small-group (predominantly cooperative) learning in
postsecondary science, mathematics, engineering, and
technology (SMET). 383 reports from 1980 or later, 39 of
which met the rigorous inclusion criteria for meta-analysis.
The main effect of small-group learning on achievement,
persistence, and attitudes among undergraduates in
SMET was significant and positive. Mean effect sizes for
achievement, persistence, and attitudes were 0.51, 0.46,
and 0.55, respectively.
Cooperative Learning is instruction that involves people
working in teams to accomplish a common goal, under
conditions that involve both positive interdependence (all
members must cooperate to complete the task) and
individual and group accountability (each member is
accountable for the complete final outcome).
Key Concepts
•Positive Interdependence
•Individual and Group Accountability
•Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction
•Teamwork Skills
•Group Processing
Challenges/Disadvantages of Assigning Group Work
• ?
Challenges/Disadvantages of Assigning Group Work
• Individuals need time to reflect before moving into group
discussion otherwise they may adopt others’
perspectives
• How to form groups so they can work effectively together
• Difficulty assessing individual student’s work/effort
• Some students refuse to work with others
• Some students feel intimidated if they don’t know
• Places more importance on absences
• Difficult to find/design good exercises
• Difficult to schedule out of class meetings
• Overall raising of grades
• Students grading students
Problems Reported to MSU Ombudsman
Office concerning group grades
1. Students’ participating in grading
2. Students felt “ganged up on” resulting in
reduced (& unfair) reduction in
contribution from team members
3. Student let other students down
4. Surprise allegation of plagiarism
MSU Student Group Work Guidelines
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Structure: Establishing Group Projects for Greatest
Effectiveness
Course planning factors
Detailed Expectations
Course Orientation Discussion
Contracts with Students
Training in Group Work
Process: Effective Use of Groups in the Classroom
Student Work Expectations
Monitoring Process
Factoring Affecting the Monitoring Process
Checking the Value of Group Work
Evaluation: Student Evaluation in Group Assignments
Individual Contributions to Group Assignments
Faculty Evaluation
Peer Evaluation
Caution for New Projects
Student Feedback
Research on academic integrity
• On most campuses, over 75% of students
admit some cheating
• Academic honor codes effectively reduce
cheating
Chronic cheating is also prevalent
Faculty are reluctant to report cheating
• Cheating is higher among fraternity and
sorority members
• Longitudinal comparisons show significant
increases in explicit test/examination
cheating and unpermitted collaboration
http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/cai/research/highlights.html (accessed
9/1/03)
SERIOUS CHEATING ON CAMPUSES
When
Lg. Pub. Univ.
Pvt. Campus
with Modified
with Honor Code
Honor Code
Campuses with
No Honor Code
On tests 23%
33%
45%
On
written
work
50%
56%
45%
New research on academic integrity: The success of "modified" honor
codes. COLLEGE ADMINISTRATION PUBLICATIONS, INC.
http://www.collegepubs.com/ref/SFX000515.shtml (accessed 9/1/03)
What can be done to
reduce/eliminate cheating?
On exams
On written assignments
What role does/can cooperative
learning play?
What can be done to reduce/eliminate
cheating (inappropriate cooperation)?
Refer explicitly to the policy on Scholastic
Conduct
Be very explicit about telling students when
and how they are expected to cooperate and
when they are to work individually
1.00 PROTECTION OF SCHOLARSHIP AND GRADES
The principles of truth and honesty are fundamental to the
educational process and the academic integrity of the
University; therefore, no student shall:
1.01 claim or submit the academic work of another as one's
own.
1.02 procure, provide, accept or use any materials
containing questions or answers to any examination or
assignment without proper authorization.
1.03 complete or attempt to complete any assignment or
examination for another individual without proper
authorization.
1.04 allow any examination or assignment to be completed
for oneself, in part or in total, by another without proper
authorization.
1.05 alter, tamper with, appropriate, destroy or otherwise
interfere with the research, resources, or other academic
work of another person.
1.06 fabricate or falsify data or results. to work individually
MSU Spartan Life: 2003-2004 Student Handbook and Resource Guide, p. 77
On my honor as a student
I have neither given nor
received aid on this
assignment/exam
(University of Virginia)
University of Virginia Honor Pledge
The Honor System is an integral part of the University of Virginia.
The essence of the system is that a student's word as a member of
the University can be accepted without question and that any
violation of a student's word is an offense against the entire student
body. Course instructors will indicate which assignments are to be
done individually and which permit collaboration. The following
pledge should be written out at the end of all quizzes and
examinations and on individual assignments and papers: "On my
honor as a student I have neither given nor received aid on this
assignment/exam." The pledge must be signed by the student. The
University Honor Committee enforces the honor system.
Students who violate the honor code are expelled from the
University.
University of Minnesota
Honor Code
I recognize academic integrity as essential to the University
of Minnesota’s and its students’ equitable and
uncompromised pursuit of their joint endeavors. As a
student I promise to practice it to the best of my ability and
to do nothing that would give me unfair advantage at the
expense of my fellow students. If I cheat in spite of making
this declaration, I expect to be penalized according to the
offense, up to and including notation of cheating recorded
on my transcript and permanent expulsion from the
University of Minnesota.
http://www1.umn.edu/usenate/reports/saicrept.html (accessed 4/25/00)
Professor's Role in
Formal Cooperative Learning
1. Specifying Objectives
2. Making Decisions
3. Explaining Task, Positive Interdependence, and
Individual Accountability
4. Monitoring and Intervening to Teach Skills
5. Evaluating Students' Achievement and Group
Effectiveness
MSU Student Group Work Guidelines
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Structure: Establishing Group Projects for Greatest
Effectiveness
Course planning factors
Detailed Expectations
Course Orientation Discussion
Contracts with Students
Training in Group Work
Process: Effective Use of Groups in the Classroom
Student Work Expectations
Monitoring Process
Factoring Affecting the Monitoring Process
Checking the Value of Group Work
Evaluation: Student Evaluation in Group Assignments
Individual Contributions to Group Assignments
Faculty Evaluation
Peer Evaluation
Caution for New Projects
Student Feedback
Cooperative Learning: Advice for Starting Out
DON'T give group grades until you
and the students are ready
Rule: No student's grade should be lower because of
cooperative learning. Evaluation for learning should be
individual until you and the students are ready for group
grades. Explore alternatives to giving group grades for
group work.
Further Reading
MSU Student Group Work Guidelines
Cooperative learning: Making Agroupwork@ work -Karl
Smith
Grading cooperative projects - Karl Smith