If a student does not want to network or collaborate in a learning community for an online course, what should the other members of the learning community do? What role should the instructor play? What impact would this have on his or her assessment plan?
There are a variety of ways to access learning in a collaborative learning community. It is critical; however, that the students understand what the assessment is and what is expected of them. "Students need a road map not only to guide the activity, but also to know how that activity will be assessed and evaluated (Palloff & Pratt, 2005).” Therefore, before any collaboration assessment is given to students, it is critical to clearly explain to the student the expectations and process of that assessment.
One valuable tool for students is a self-assessment. This is an appropriate tool because it allows the learner, the focus of the course, to provide information about their own perception of their abilities. This assessment may come in many forms such as a reflective writing or essay or it may be done in the form of a portfolio that is provides the highlights of the students work as chosen by the student.
"A simple rule to remember when assessing collaborative work is that collaborative activities are best assessed collaboratively (Palloff and Pratt, 2005)." With this in mind, rubrics that are written for collaborative expectations are preferable. Another method would be to provide students a survey of their perceptions of the workings of the group as a whole.
To ensure fair and equitable assessment, the use of a rubric with clear expectations produces a more objective evaluation of the product.
In order to work with the challenge of a student opposed to working collaboratively, the instructor should make the expectation for collaborative work as plain as possible. Many of these individuals who might balk at the idea of working collaboratively are more willing when the instruction, preparation, and expectations for roles and are clearly laid out (Palloff and Pratt, 2005).
References:
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I presume you mean working on a group project when you say collaborative. Working collaboratively means something different to me, and we work collaboratively when we post discussion responses, blogs and blog responses, and peer reviews of each others' video podcasts. Almost everything we do in our classes has a rubric, and I love rubrics for students and for the teacher. However, I am one who would not be in any class that required a joint project, and I have never been in a college-level face-to-face class that required one. I did participate in one online class one time because I could not drop it, and I thought it only fair to see how it went. It went pretty much as I expected. Some met their responsibilties and some left us high and dry. I even asked before I submitted my application to Walden if group projects were required because I feel very strongly about group projects. At work, I have participated in many group projects that went very well, and I enjoyed those experiences. I do not like it when I do my work and others do not. That doesn't happen in the work place.
ReplyDeleteYou are so correct when you state that a valuable tool for assessment is self assessment. It not only lets the student reflect upon what they have done, but when the student is also assessed by their peers, it allows for effective comparisons between the two.
ReplyDelete