Group Work and Grading How should we assess individual learning? Ideas from Susan M. Brookhart and Kagan

Discussion Why do we use groups in the classroom? What are the benefits? What are the weaknesses?

Purpose of groups To create higher order thinking and interactive discussions

Questions for creating assignments: 1.What is it that you want students to learn by engaging in the group project? 2.What standards does it align to? 3.What knowledge and skills do you want students to gain? 4.What are ways that you can observe, assess, and give feedback (not grade) the learning and process skills/ content knowledge and skills?

Conflict Does group work assess individual learning? What should we be assessing with group work? (learning, effort, productivity, cooperation, skills)

Discuss Should all students in a groups receive the same grade for work on a group project?

Discuss What should we give feedback on?

Feedback 1.Learning and process skills 2.Content knowledge and skills

How to grade groups and assess individual learning? 1.Cooperative Learning 2.Build individual assessment opportunities 3.Multistep Design 4.Write your own question 5.Post-Project Test

Cooperative Learning Roundtable Divide the class into rows or groups. Prepare a sheet of paper for each group with the target language or question on top. The teams use the cooperative structure Roundtable to substitute words or phrases for the underlined word, or to add words or phrases to a list. Sage and Scribe 1. Designate one student from each pair to be the scribe and the other as the sage, or allow students to choose their first roles. 2 Provide a problem or task to each sage, which he will explain to his scribe. Instruct the sage to describe the task or problem to the scribe so that the sage can reach the correct solution. 3 Allow students to discuss the problem and to ask questions for clarification. Sages cannot help scribes write the solutions, and scribes can only write what sages say. 4 Have the two students in each pair switch positions. Have the scribe become the sage and vice verse for the second task. Repeat the procedure so each student has a chance to fulfill both roles at least once.

Learning Targets: Individual assessments ● I can distinguish between what students DO in a group project and what they LEARN ● I can explain three ways to assess and grade student learning from group projects. ● I can explain three ways to assess and give feedback on students’ group process skills.

Distinguish Between What students DO during a group project -collaboration skills -group process skills What students LEARN from a group project -content knowledge and skills

Discussion In groups of four, middle school students conduct research on the Battle of Little Bighorn (causes, effects, details) The group may choose the format for their written results (trifold, presentation slides, report) Group must also present a 5-minute oral presentation to the class

What are we assessing What students do (process) What students learn (skills) Group participation rubric Peer evaluation Reflection Oral questioning Extended writing

Alternatives: Assess Individual learning Describe the three most important things you learned about the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the place it holds in the history of the relationship between Native American cultures and the U.S. Government. Which of those three things surprised you the most, and explain why. Avoid? Summarize what you learned.

Post Project Test Projects can harness the power Tests can be the assessment

Multistep Design In one project have multiple assessments (formative and summative)

Write your own question Formative or part of a whole They create and answer critical thinking question

Work time: What group projects do I currently use that I can tweak to better assess individual learning? How do I grade the student learning?

Quick wins Start small (Rome wasn’t built in a day) Select one project that is small Student feedback