Students hate group tasks. Why? Because “It’s not fair if everyone gets the same mark!” Co-constructed learning tasks and summative group work are undoubtedly challenging especially when studying online. So, it’s no surprise that many UNE teachers shy away from designing them into their units. However, working together online is far from impossible, as we’ve found out through our recent experience of physical isolation. And perhaps the skills students can gain from working in teams are too important to ignore. According to the 2013 Graduate Outlook Survey of what employers look for in graduates, interpersonal and communication skills was rated higher than academic results. Altogether, there is a case to try to make group tasks happen in a way that students find fair and equitable. In T3 2019, Adrian Norman (Senior Learning Designer, FMH) and Stephen Grono (Senior Learning Designer, LaTT) with assistance from Adam Landow (Educational Support Officer, ERS) created a Self and Peer Assessment (SaPA) tool and methodology, to enable students to be rewarded in a fair and transparent way for their contributions to a team task. The SaPA design provides students with the opportunity to provide qualitative and quantitative feedback to their peers on their contribution and performance within the team. To date, this new SaPA methodology has been implemented in three Units in the School of Health. Overall, results have been encouraging. Particularly surprising is the quality and quantity of peer feedback given, suggesting that the students found the SaPA process of value. In this presentation, how the SaPA process works will be demonstrated and findings from the units in which the SaPA has run will be shared.
Dr Adrian Norman is an Academic Developer in Learning and Teaching Transformation (LaTT) at the University of New England (UNE). Adrian has a Master of Education in Information Technology (Education and Training with Distinction) from the University of Wollongong (UOW) and a PhD from Macquarie University. In his doctoral study, Adrian investigated the influence of pedagogy and design on the learner’s capacity to regulate their learning in an online context. Adrian has taught in the area of online learning and learning design at UOW, Macquarie University and UNE. Prior to working in higher education, Adrian ran his own consultancy, Educational Video and Design, and provided educational services for clients from a range of sectors. Adrian’s first career was in theatre. He studied acting at Ecole Philippe Gaulier in Paris and directing at the NIDA. He co-founded the award-winning theatre company Theatre Sans Frontieres in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the Northeast of England and worked as a director and actor in the UK for most of the 90s. He lives in Armidale, plays the banjo and shares a house with two females, Lulubelle and Intrepid.
Mr Stephen Grono is a Senior Learning Designer within LaTT Strategic Learning Initiatives, UNE. His role focuses on facilitating effective staff use of technology and online learning opportunities to enhance the delivery of teaching materials and student interaction and engagement with course content, primarily through the UNE Moodle Learning Management System and its related ecosystem. Steve combines his years of working with UNE academics at a School level alongside past experiences teaching in Primary schools with his interest and knowledge in the evolving technology field to provide a beneficial perspective to University staff of varying technological skills and needs, applying high quality contemporary pedagogical practices and design as it relates to online education, drawing on his background in both education and technology spheres, to provide contextualised support and solutions for the individualised needs of staff and teaching contexts. When not herding cats academically, Steve manages a small cat rescue just outside of Tamworth NSW.