Assessing Collaborative Efforts

• How should participation in a collaborative learning community be assessed?
According to Palloff and Pratt (2005), collaborative activities are best assessed collaboratively. This is not to say that the instructor is void of all responsibilities for assessing collaborative work but that group members themselves are more often than not better able to assess how well individual team members contributed to the collaborative effort and are better able to assess their own contributions through self-assessment and feedback. Clear and concise rubrics should be made available at the beginning of the class so that students know exactly what is expected of them and how their contributions will be measured. Evaluation and assessment should be part of the learning-teaching process, embedded in class activities and in the interaction between learners and between learners and teachers (Palloff and Pratt, 2007). Ongoing assessment of student performance linked to immediate feedback and individualized instruction supports learning (Swan, 2004).
Although student involvement in collaborative assessment further demonstrates the student’s own understanding and comprehension of the course content, instructors need to use good judgment and not let interpersonal difficulties among students sway assessment.

In my research I came across a very informative blog by Karen Mallette, in which Karen goes into great detail to explain why rubrics and feedback are so important in distance education. Mallette (2010) referenced the work of Phil Race who describes use a “ripples on a pond” model for describing the main factors of successful learning, in which Race (2001) claims feedback as the most essential factor.

• How do the varying levels of skill and knowledge students bring to a course affect the instructor's "fair and equitable assessment" of learning?
It is important to take into account the students’ perception of their own learning (Palloff and Pratt, 2007). Probably more so than in a traditional classroom, just by the nature of online learning, students participating in distance education come from varying backgrounds, have varying skill levels, diverse knowledge sets, cultural differences, come with a myriad of work and life experiences, not to mention age differences. Just as importantly, students bring to the online environment dissimilar personal, family and work responsibilities that can impact their learning. Students’ self-assessment regarding the amount of learning gained and learning objectives achieved is often just as important, or more so, than the instructor’s opinion of their work (Palloff and Pratt, 2007).

• 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?
Initially, members of the learning community should reach out and try to communicate with the student to try to persuade the student to participate or at least do what they can to understand what the issue(s) may be that are preventing the student from participating. With understanding, it may be possible to come to a mutual agreement and practical solution that would work for all members of the community. If that doesn’t work, would be the responsibility of the group members to enlist the assistance of the instructor so as to prevent possible ramifications that would affect the entire group.

• What role should the instructor play?
The instructor should take on the role of mediator for the group by reaching out to the student to offer guidance, assistance and encouragement while at the same time reminding the student of their obligations to themselves and to their learning community and remind them of the consequences of non-participation.

• What impact would this have on his or her assessment plan?
If a student refuses to work collaboratively as part of a learning community then the instructor would be forced to grade accordingly. If the instructor provided the class with clear expectations and rubrics that would be used for assessment at the onset of the course, then the student shouldn’t be surprised at the assessment results received.
Having said that, I would hope that the instructor would take into consideration the difference between refusal to participate versus extenuating circumstances outside of the student’s control that prevented participation.

References:
Mallette, K. (2010, April 23). Evaluation and Assessment in Online Learning [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://kmallette.files.wordpress.com/2010/07 otl-541_finalproject.pdf

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007) Building online learning communities. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Race, P. (2001, February 16). Using feedback to help students learn. Retrieved from http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/resources/resourcedatabase/id432_using_feedback.pdf

Siemens, G. (2009). The future of distance education. (Vodcast). Principals of Distance Education DVD produced by Laureate Education, Inc. Baltimore.

Simonson, M. (2008). Distance education: The next generation. (Vodcast). Principles of Distance Education DVD produced by Laureate Education, Inc. Baltimore.

Swan, K. (2004). Relationships between interactions and learning in online environments. In Sloan-C (Ed), Effective practices in learning effectiveness (pp. 1-6).

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