GroupWorks

This is a peer- and self-assessment tool which asks students to rate themselves and other members in their group or syndicate. The system is designed to encourage all students in a group to actively participate in a group activity, and allows academic staff to identify problem groups earlier in the semester, when intervention is more effective.

Typically, students rate themselves and other group members on criteria such as the extent to which group members:

• prepare for group meetings
• listen attentively and non-defensively to all points of view
• engage constructively in discussion and debate
• demonstrate a good work ethic (i.e. do their fair share of the work).

However, the criteria can be customised for each task.

You can ask students to complete and electronically submit a peer review form one or more times throughout the semester. Alternatively, the system can be configured to send students a confidential report revealing their average mark and their ranking against other members of the group. The system allows for a report to be made available after each review process, for a final report to be made available at the end of the semester, or the academic staff can choose not to release any reports. Only averages will be provided. Individual feedback responses will only be disclosed to staff managing the system.

Student peer feedback results can be factored into their marks, or simply used to monitor participation. For example, if one or more students in a particular group consistently receive poor participation marks, a meeting can be scheduled between the whole group and their tutor to address why this is occurring.

This tool has been developed in collaboration with Associate Professor Anne Lillis and Hayden Pound from ABIS, and the TLU.

To discuss how GroupWorks can be used in your subject, please email Paul Andonov or telephone 03 8344 3646.