All students should be aware of the guidelines given by the instructor for participation in the community (Palloff & Pratt, 2007). The instructor should also stepin and inform students if their participation begin to wane (Palloff & Pratt, 2005). Other students should encourage the student that seems to be reluctant to participate in the community by asking the reluctant participant questions on the topic to encourage them to answer. Talking about other subjects besides the topic at hand can motivate participation.
Members of the community can assess each participant. Grading rubrics should be included in the course. Self-reflection should be part of the assessment. The instructor can also assess students on their skills and knowledge. Some students may have advanced skills and may not display the growth of students that are not as advanced and this should be taken into consideration when grading the student (Siemens, 2008). " Students need a road map not only to guide the activity, but also to know how that activity will be assessed and evaluated" (Palloff & Pratt, 2005).
References
Palloff, R. M. & Pratt, K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities; Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom; John Wiley & Sons Inc., Published by Jossey Bass
Palloff, R. M. & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating Online; Learning Together in Community; John Wiley & Sons Inc., Published by Jossey Bass
Palloff, R. M. & Pratt, K. (2005). The Role and Responsibility of the Learner in the Online Classroom, retrieved from; http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/Resource_library/proceedings/03_24.pdf on 7/08/09.
Siemens, G. (2008). Assessement of Collaborative Learning; Laureate Education Video presentation
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Hank,
ReplyDeleteI like your thoughts about self reflection. Do you believe that the instrutor should train students in self reflection or at least give some guidelines? Sometimes students will have a hard time without some sort of coaching or guideline when first learing to self assess.
George
ReplyDeleteI believe the students can use their self reflection as part of their self assessment. Graduate students should not need instructions or guidelines for self reflection. The grade school students may need some insrtuctions and guidelines for their reflection.
You are correct, the instructor should step in to let the student know how they are doing. Totally it is up to the student to meet the standard. The instructor should have the best interest of the student at hand. This is why the instructor should let the student know they are not meeting the standard and give them steps to ensure that they will achieve success.
ReplyDeleteW. Jackson
Thank you for the response
ReplyDeleteI think rubrics are crucial for assessment, not only to inform the student what is expected, but so that students can self-assess (reflect) and assess peers. I also think it is beneficial when students are involved in creating a rubric to assess their projects. That gives them buy-in to the project and is motivating because they had a say in what is assessed.
ReplyDeleteYou have effectively described the assessment of collaborative learning. Iit should consist of what is expected from the course/instructor with a rubric. Students who have more experience should be taken into consideration, but they can also grow further with the help of the instructor.
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