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Design and manage group assessments

Group assessments have many benefits for students and educators. However, for these assessments to be effective they need to be designed with care.

Benefits of group assessments

The benefits of group assessment for students include:

developing project planning and teamwork skills
building cohort connections with peers
strengthening confidence to work in diverse teams
working on ‘real world’ projects or solutions-based problems
learning how to collaborate productively in a team

The benefits of group assessment for educators include:

implementing more authentic assessment that transfer to professional applications
reducing common academic integrity issues
fostering interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary skills in students
integrating reflective practice skills into student learning

Designing group assessments

Effective assessment begins with clearly identifying the learning outcomes you intend to evaluate. Once these outcomes are defined, consider how the group assessment task will be designed to gather the necessary evidence of student learning.

Group group assessment design should incorporate opportunities for meaningful student participation and feedback with structures that support and motivate fair and consistent contributions throughout the group process.

Articulate the purpose and value of the group work to students. When students understand the purpose, they are more likely to engage meaningfully
Manage group membership so that students have opportunities to contribute meaningfully. If students are self-selecting groups, articulate the benefits of diversity for collaboration and problem solving tasks.
Break the task into stages to provide scaffolding and multiple opportunities for feedback. Providing opportunities to check-in helps maintain motivation and allow early intervention if issues arise.
Be transparent about the assessment criteria, including how group and individual performance will be marked, to reduce ambiguity and promote fairness.
Use peer and self-evaluation tools to promote accountability, reduce free-riding, and enhance student motivation and learning.

As well as designing the task, it is important to plan how groups will be formed and how students will be supported throughout the process.

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Assessment tasks and criteria should be carefully designed to ensure that learning outcomes can be evaluated based on observable evidence. When designing a group assessment task decide how you will assess the group process and/or the final product.
If the learning outcomes are related to skills like collaboration, communication or organisation, the assessment design should make the group process visible.
Criteria for process might include things like:
- demonstrations of role adoption and leadership skills
- demonstration of problem solving strategies
- demonstration of organisation and time management
- evidence of cooperation and effective communication
- evidence of responsiveness to feedback (both educator and peer)
- evidence of equal contributions
Consider what kind of evidence will be required to evaluate criteria related to group processes. How will you support groups to document their processes and produce reliable evidence for marking. Be mindful of equity: group marks alone may not reflect individual contributions.
Assessment criteria for the final product will depend on the learning outcomes for your unit and the nature of the group task (i.e. the assignment submitted).
Be sure to articulate to students how both the process and final product align with the course and unit learning outcomes and reflect real-world professional and community practices.
Group membership can be determined by staff allocation, randomisation or student self-selection.
Regardless of the method, ensure groups are balanced in size and composition so that all students have opportunities to contribute meaningfully. Smaller groups are easier to manage, but groups of two or three risk collapsing if members drop out or disengage.
Aim for diversity in each group, for example a mix of gender, culture, discipline, year level, and international/local students, to enrich collaboration and problem-solving. If students are self-selecting groups, articulate the benefits of diversity for collaboration and problem solving tasks.
Supporting students throughout the group assessment process is essential. Proactive management helps prevent issues and cultivates a positive learning experience.
You can support your students with group assessment by:
- providing resources on teamwork, meeting planning, delegation, conflict resolution, and group dynamics. Many of these are available from Learn HQ: Collaborate with others
- creating a dedicated group folder or section in Moodle for easy access to materials
- encouraging groups to set meeting schedules and accountability guidelines
- offering regular check-ins to provide feedback and address concerns early
- keeping records of meetings and communications in case follow-up is needed
Even with good planning and design, dysfunctional groups can happen. Having contingency plans in place before you allocate groups can assist. Think through how you will support students to help them resolve conflicts, what you will do to assist if needed, and what options might be available to you should the conflict not be resolved.
Consider the equity of allocating a group mark for the assessment; a group assessment that results in inequitable contributions from team members means that contributing students may be allocated a lower mark, or non-contributing students may end up with a better mark than they deserve. A more equitable method of evaluating group assessment is to use a combination of group and individual marks.
You may want to allocate a percentage of the mark towards an individual mark, meaning students can be allocated appropriate marks based on their contribution, effort, and work. For example, if the group assessment is worth 40% of the students’ final mark for the unit, you allocate 30% for the group outcome/product, and 10% for individual contributions.
All marks should be based on observable, measurable criteria. Individual marks for effort should be based on direct evidence, not on your perception of (or other students’ comments about) their efforts. For example, if a student approaches you to discuss a conflict with another group member, this should not be used as evidence that the student being complained about is making no effort in the group.
As you may not witness all group interactions, it is not always ideal for educators to be responsible for awarding the entire individual mark.
One way to overcome this is to implement both self- and peer evaluation as an element of the assessment. This can include a mix of team ranking activities, self -evaluation, self-reflection, reflection on group processes, or other valid methods of evaluating individual contributions to group work.

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Learning and Teaching: Teach HQ

Learning and Teaching: Teach HQ

Design and manage group assessments

Benefits of group assessments

Designing group assessments

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