Group work – why do it? Rachel Horn – Civil & Structural Engineering

Structure of the session Employability & group work – Employers’ view – Academic view – Key discussion points Brief examples - my experience – Group work and skill development – Peer assessment and moderation Group discussion – Barriers and problems – Methods and solutions – sharing good practice – Adapting to other teaching scenarios

Employer view… Productivity Employability

Academic view… Deeper learning Management of numbers Employability

Making group work effective… main problems and barriers Group size Group selection Group management – ensuring participation – administration and facilitation Assessment Types of group tasks Skill development & awareness of skills

My experience Project modules – 3 rd year & 4 th year Careers and industrial liaison role – Discussions and involvement in teaching

3 rd year Group project

Embedding teamwork skills Subsequent 2-week group design project: Provide outline brief only – students interview client – Professional approach Too much for one student – all team have to co-operate, elements need integration Specific tasks – Encourages adoption of roles Only one or two team members participate in each “taught” session – encourage communication

Raise awareness of skills End of the design project: Final assessment Feedback and debrief session –Reflection on skills –Linked to professional training scheme –Could be linked to other skills awareness – PDP etc

Assessment: Peer assessment 4 th year module –8 groups = 4 paired groups – peer assess Encourages engagement Listen, question, analyse Develop constructive criticism Eager for feedback Learn from each other

Assessment: peer moderation Use peer moderation for “internal” team skills Anonymous evaluation of peer contribution Comments justify scores Scores used to moderate group mark Develop assessment criteria e.g. –Co-ordination, leadership, delegation –Data investigation –Problem-solving skills –General teamwork skills

Group Discussion – making group work effective… Main problems and barriers Solutions, good examples and ideas Adapt ideas to teaching situations

Group discussion Ideas for a group exercise / project Ideas for how to develop employability skills –Teaching scenario –Aims / intended benefits –Barriers / potential difficulties –How will skill development be achieved? –How will it be assessed? –Controls / solutions? –How will students be encouraged to recognise skills they have developed?