Assessing Student-Student Collaboration (Promises and Perils of Assigning and Grading Group Work, aka, Cooperative Learning or Cheating?)

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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 ksmith_at_umn.edu http//www.ce.umn.edu/sm
ith Annual Conference on Case Study Teaching in
Science October 6-7, 2006
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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

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Group Assignment/Grading Practices

• Assign Group Projects/Homeworks/?
• Percentage of Grade based on group work
• lt10
• 10-20
• 20-30
• gt30
• Assess Individual Contributions to Group Work?
  How?
• Other?

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(No Transcript)
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Advantages of Assigning Group Work

• ?

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Advantages of Assigning Group Work

• Students know one another
• Provides a sense of realism for the fields
  theyll 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

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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
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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.
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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
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(No Transcript)
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Challenges/Disadvantages of Assigning Group Work

• ?

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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 students
  work/effort
• Some students refuse to work with others
• Some students feel intimidated if they dont 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

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Problems Reported to MSU Ombudsman Office
concerning group grades

• Students participating in grading
• Students felt ganged up on resulting in reduced
  ( unfair) reduction in contribution from team
  members
• Student let other students down
• Surprise allegation of plagiarism

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MSU Student Group Work Guidelines

• 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

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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/high
lights.html (accessed 9/1/03)
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SERIOUS CHEATING ON CAMPUSES
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)
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What can be done to reduce/eliminate
cheating? On exams On written assignments What
role does/can cooperative learning play?
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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
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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
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On my honor as a student I have neither given
nor received aid on this assignment/exam
(University of Virginia)
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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.
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University of Minnesota Honor Code
I recognize academic integrity as essential to
the University of Minnesotas 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/usena
te/reports/saicrept.html (accessed 4/25/00)
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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
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Comparison of Learning Groups
Less Structured (Traditional)
More Structured (Cooperative)
Low interdependence. Members take
High positive interdependence. Members
responsibility only for self. Focus is on
are responsible for own and each others
individual performance only.
learning. Focus is on joint performance.
Individual accountability only
Both group and individual accountability.
Members hold self and others accountable
for high quality work.
Assignments are discussed with little
Members promote each others success.
commitment to each others learning.
They do real work together and help and
support each others efforts to learn.
Teamwork skills are ignored. Leader is
Teamwork skills are emphasized. Members
appointed to direct members participation.
are taught and expected to use social skills.
All members share leadership
responsibilities.
No group processing of the quality of its
Group processes quality of work and how
work. Individual accomplishments are
effectively members are working together.
rewarded.
Continuous improvement is emphasized.
rewarded.
Continuous improvement is emphasized.
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MSU Student Group Work Guidelines

• 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

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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.
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Further Reading MSU Student Group Work
Guidelines Cooperative learning Making
Agroupwork_at_ work -Karl Smith Grading cooperative
projects - Karl Smith