There are various ways a collaborative learning community can be assessed. The challenge is to create assessment models that still consider the individual as well as the group (Laureate Education. 2008). Self assessment, peer assessment, and educator assessment are approaches that could successfully evaluate students within the collaborative community while considering the student that prefers working in an individual capacity.
Self assessment can come in the forms of reflection and portfolio. “The reflective process that should be included in an online course provides the basis for learner centered assessment” (Palloff, & Pratt. 2005. p.42-43). Reflective assessment allows for students to evaluate the project and their participation in the activity. The portfolio should be designed to look at individual contributions as well as the final product (Palloff, &Pratt. 2005). Including the individual contribution aspects of the portfolio encourage student participation by emphasizing the importance of the student’s particularized work as well as the group.
Peer assessment emphasizes the importance of communication and feedback. Comments, suggestions, and support from peers can help the collaborative student gage the level of participation and contribution he or she has met. Feedback should maintain a constructive tone (Palloff, & Pratt. 2005) in efforts to encourage participation and improvement. There is still an individual aspect as one communicates to another but it is in effort to help the group as a whole.
Educators can assess based on the idea of education in “participation in a broader environment” (Laureate Education. 2008). This participation includes assessing on student contributions as well as learning management and collaborative systems. Assessments created for online collaboration should be “fair and direct” (Laureate Education. 2008) and easy for the student to understand. When developing assessments it is also important for the instructor to understand the individualized experience of the students and ensure that there is the opportunity for individual performance. It is important for the educator to “mix it up” (Laureate Education 2008) between collaborative and individual activities and assessments.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author.
Paloff, R. & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Michael,
ReplyDeleteYou did an excellent job! I agree that self assessment can come in the forms of reflection and portfolios. Portfolios are a must in the educational field and it provides us with ongoing evaluations of a student’s progress. Most of the assessments you talked about in your blog, were assessments that we already do at Walden, which was great! For example, we do peer assessment frequently which provides great feedback to students. We also provide comments and suggestions to help support our peers in a collaborative setting. I enjoyed reading your blog!
Michael,
ReplyDeleteYou made an interesting point about integrating three forms of assessment (self, peer, instructor). Reflective portfolios are not new means of assessment. There seems, though, to be a lot of resistance in using reflective portfolios. How do you think we can change the perceptions associated with self assessment? I see the triad you have here being the future of authentic assessment. How will we navigate the resistance, especially with self and peer assessment?
Erica
I think it will require a paradigm shift from the students. It will take the students time to be comfortable with the idea of self assessment and it will take guidance from the instructors. As for portfolios it will take the students' involvement for it to work. When creating a portfolio the students should be involved in the selections and describe why they made that selection ( Stiggins, 2005).
ReplyDeletereference
Stiggins, R.J. (2005). Student involved assessment for learning. Upper Saddle River NJ:Pearson.
Michael,
ReplyDeleteI like that you propose a balance between assessing individual efforts as well as collaboration. I think that it's a really important idea, especially for students that are hesitant about collaboration. This way those students make sure that they get recognition for their individual efforts. This may even encourage them to collaborate more. I also like the idea of portfolios. I think portfolios are a great way to demonstrate the growth over time that a student has made.
Michael,
ReplyDeleteI see reflection as a necessary component in any learning situation. I recommend to all my students that they maintain a daily journal for record their reflection on the days' activities. I have maintained a journal for decades and it provides a good review tool as well as a self check on progress in many different areas.