Including Peer Assessment in Group Work

How to create better group work was the focus of a previous teaching tip.

If you are including group assessment, it is important to create a balance between group assessment and individual assessment. Suggested approaches include:

• Having a mix of assessment that is individual and group-based
• Including an individual component to your group assessment item
• Incorporating a peer assessment of group member contributions

As per the Assessment Procedures and Guidelines:

"Where course assessment includes group work, this work should include individually graded components as best practice. Group work should not exceed 40% of the total assessment for the course."

"Before individual grades are finalised, the examiner should seek and take account of additional information about the contributions of individuals to team efforts, particularly if group tasks contribute significantly towards the final course grade."

Facilitating peer assessment of group member contributions (not to be confused with peer marking) is now easier to facilitate with the introduction of the Peer Assessment activity in Akoraka | Learn. 

Guidance on how to use the Peer Assessment activity and other helpful tips for group work can be found on Teaching at Lincoln. Look under Assessment > Assessment Options > Group vs Individual. 

Contact the Teaching Quality team (teaching.quality@lincoln.ac.nz) if you would like to discuss your group assessment and how to incorporate peer assessment.