What is intra-group sales?
Cross-assessment by peers
Peer assessments providing feedback on a production, assignment or performance.
Intra-group valuation
Peer evaluations in teamwork give feedback on the attitude and work processes of group members.
We call this method intra-group, because it enables us to assess the attitude of our peers within a group or team. In this way, we can assess skills that are generally difficult for teachers to grasp: "soft-skills", i.e. human and behavioral skills (Kennedy, 20062).
The pedagogical advantages of the method
Intra-group evaluation, or peer evaluation of teamwork, by assessing soft-skills, trains students in these skills. As these skills are centred on teamwork and collaboration, they are closely linked to the professional world and prepare students for it (Conway, 19933). Also, in group work, it's not uncommon for one or more students to get carried away and take advantage of the work of others. Their presence generates frustration and a feeling of inequity among students who are more involved in the group. However, by introducing intra-group assessment, the pressure of assessment reduces the number of free-riders within groups (Conway 19933; Kench 20094).
Points to bear in mind
There are several points to bear in mind when applying the method, so that students can benefit fully from these advantages.
Define the purpose of the assessment
Is it purely formative, or does it also have a summative aim? With this method, we can match a group's grade to each individual's investment in the group - based on their investment as perceived by their peers. By doing so, we reinforce the perception of fairness through shared effort, which in turn increases student satisfaction and investment in the process.
Preceded by a group evaluation meeting
A meeting between the students prior to the intra-group assessment ensures a more consensual and therefore more valid assessment.
Integrating self-assessment
By including a self-assessment in the evaluation - an assessment of one's own investment in the group - we obtain a more valid evaluation.
Group size
Evaluation will be better if the number of people in a group corresponds to education standards, i.e. 4 or 5 people maximum.
Feedback
By scheduling an intra-group assessment in the middle of an activity, students can take into account feedback from their group mates, which improves performance and reduces the number of free-riders detected by an intra-group assessment at the end of the activity.
Defining a valuation method
As with all other forms of valuation, the quality of an intra-group valuation will depend to a large extent on the valuation method used. There are two such methods: holistic -global- and criterion-referenced valuations.
The criterion-based method
The preferred method for completeness and validity will be the criterion-referenced method. To do this, it is either possible to co-construct the grid with the students in order to increase their investment, or to use a valid grid to evaluate the attitude of students in group work.The holistic method
Simple holistic evaluation, i.e. giving an overall assessment of a peer's attitude and investment in a group, is not a very valid method. However, it is possible to add indicators, making this method more valid and formative.
Bibliography :
1 Elliott, N., & Higgins, A. (2005). Self and peer assessment - does it make a difference to student group work? Nurse Education in Practice, 5(1), 40-48. doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2004.03.004
2 Kennedy, G. J. (2005, January). Peer-assessment in group projects: is it worth it? In Proceedings of the 7th Australasian conference on Computing education-Volume 42 (pp. 59-65).
3 Conway, R., Kember, D., Sivan, A., & Wu, M. (1993). Peer assessment of an individual's contribution to a group project. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 18 (1), 45-56.
4 Kench, P. L., Field, N., Agudera, M., & Gill, M. (2009). Peer assessment of individual contributions to a group project: Student perceptions. Radiography, 15(2), 158-165.d oi:10.1016/j.radi.2008.04.004
