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Assessing group-work projects in higher education: some pedagogical and ethical considerations
Conference paper

Assessing group-work projects in higher education: some pedagogical and ethical considerations

Michael Christie and F Ferdos
European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) Conference, 11th (Nicosia, Cypress, 22-Aug-2005–27-Aug-2005)
European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction
2005
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Abstract

Curriculum and Pedagogy
In this paper we present our findings from a research project connected with group work in a first year engineering course at Chalmers University, Sweden. Our research data is based on twenty interviews with both male and female students involved in first-year electrical engineering projects. We argue that men and women have different attitudes to small group work and different ways of behaving in the group. In our study women preferred a more communicative approach to learn ing but were often frustrated in this by the more logistical and product oriented approach of male group members. Under pressure, discussion gave way to divided tasks which were generally devised and allotted by strong male members of the group. Men were more often engaged with procedural and conditional knowledge while women worked with declarative knowledge. In a subsequent test that examined what students had learnt during their group work, women did particularly badly. One reason for this, we argue, is that the test examined higher order knowledge. Men had a deeper understanding of the problems because they had been more actively engaged with them. Communication skills, gender awareness and team work were some of the other aims of the group work. These were not tested. This raises both questions about the fairness of the test and the design of the group work. We conclude that better designed and more closely monitored group work would ensure that women, on the one hand, are involved in more active problem solving while men, on the other, would be required to communicate better. In this way generic skills such as effective communication and gender awareness would be enhanced and all members of the group would have the opportunity to engage actively with higher-order subject-specific skills and knowledge.

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