Harnessing CATs and CoLTs
Linking Classroom Assessment and Collaborative Learning Techniques

The Inaugural Conference on Learning and Assessment

Materials for a Brief Workshop on 10 September 2014

Tom Angelo
Professor of Higher Education
Assistant Provost and Founding Director
Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence
Queens University of Charlotte (NC)

Key Terms and Concepts that might be of use

•	Collaborative and Cooperative Learning
•	Cooperative Competitiveness
•	The ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development)
•	Free Riders, Sandbaggers, and Passive-Aggressive Martyrs
•	Positive Interdependence
•	Individual vs. Group Accountability
•	Deliberate Practice
______________________________________________________________________________

Onl

Teaching & Learning Pyramid

Five Practical Strategies for Effective Groupwork
 
1.	 Select tasks/assignments that can be   
  accomplished better by groups than individuals

   If a group task or assignment can be done by the ‘smartest’  
   or hardest working student in the group – it will be.

2.	 Select tasks/assignments that require groups or  
  teams in the world outside higher education

   College courses provide a safe place for students to practice the 
   real-world skills they’ll need after graduation, to fail at those initially, 
   to get feedback and to improve.

3.	 Ensure that grading explicitly rewards both “better” 
  group performance and individual preparation

  The well-prepared, diligent students need motivation to work with others. 
  The less-prepared, less diligent students need motivation to prepare well   
  and contribute their fair share.

4.	 Intentionally determine group size and make up

  Take control of the “social technologies” of your classroom.  
  Don’t allow birds of a feather to flock together if you want students to   
  develop critical thinking, self-assessment, and/or appreciation of other 
  viewpoints. 

5.	 Make sure all group members have – or have 
  access to – the skills & tools required to succeed
                       
                    Groupwork and teamwork are learned skills, not innate capacities.  
         To benefit from groupwork, students must first learn how to do it properly.

Making Groupwork Work: A Design Checklist

2 How does the groupwork relate to the course/program’s stated outcomes?
               Are you convinced groupwork will help students achieve any/all of  
               the relevant course learning outcomes?  (If yes, which?) 

2 How authentic is the groupwork assignment or task?
   Is it something that typically requires groupwork in the “real world”?
   Is the assignment/task one that can only/best be done by a group?
   (Or can well-prepared individual students do it as well or better on their own?)

2 How challenging is the groupwork assignment/task?
  Is the combination of challenge level of the assignment/task and time available to   
              complete it high enough to justify groupwork?
              (Or might students view it as busywork?)

2 How appropriate are the group structures, group size, and composition?
  Are the size and composition of the group appropriate for the task/assignment?
             Is the group structure (e.g., strategy or technique) appropriate?

2 Have you built in obvious ‘positive interdependence’?
  Will students understand immediately that they need each other’s cooperation
              and best efforts to succeed in the task/assignment? 
              Do your assessment and grading processes make these obvious and consequential?

2 Have you built in explicit individual and group accountability?
  Will students understand immediately that they each are responsible and accountable 
              individually for making the group’s work succeed?
              Do your assessment and grading processes make that explicit and consequential?

2 How well prepared are students to carry out the groupwork?
  Do all students already have the skills and knowledge required to succeed?
              Are the interpersonal “rules of engagement” clear and understood by students?
              If not, how and where can they get training, help and/or support?

Cooperative Learning Technique #1
Think-Pair-Share 

This cooperative learning technique (CoLT) is useful for stimulating engagement in discussions, checking students’ understanding of concepts, and encouraging students to rehearse, express, and compare their understandings with those of others 

Estimated Time and Effort Required for

	Faculty to prepare this CoLT			VERY LOW
	Students to use this CoLT			VERY LOW
	Faculty to assess/follow up			VERY LOW

Complexity 							VERY LOW
Risk of Failure						VERY LOW

Duration and Location		5-15 minutes/In class

Group Size and Structure	Pairs or triads/Informal/No pre-organising needed

Description and Purpose:

The name of this CoLT, “Think-Pair-Share,” captures the essential steps.
In response to a question posed by the instructor, students think and perhaps write on their own for a few minutes, quickly pair up with class mates, and then share, discuss, and compare their responses in pairs before responding to the instructor or sharing with the entire class.  This technique provides students with the opportunity to formulate responses and practice communicating them with their peers.  Since Think-Pair-Share can dramatically improve students’ willingness and readiness to participate, it’s often used as a “warm up” or “step up” to a whole class discussion.
Procedure

1.	Pose an engaging question to the class, giving students ample time to think about the question individually and to devise individual responses. 
2.	Ask students to pair with another student nearby to share responses and, if useful, to create a joint response by building on each other's ideas.
3.	Ask the pairs to share their responses with the whole class. If time is limited and/or the class is large, randomly call on student pairs.
4.	If appropriate, provide class with the correct or expert response, allowing them to check and, if needed, correct their individual and pair responses.

Cooperative Learning Technique #2

Analytic Teams

Listening to a lecture, watching a video, or reading an assignment can be passive activities for students. One way to engage students more fully is to form structured teams to analyse and discuss various aspects of the task. 

Estimated Time and Effort Required for

Faculty to prepare this CoLT			MEDIUM
Students to use this CoLT			MEDIUM
Faculty to assess/follow up			MEDIUM

Complexity 						MEDIUM
Risk of Failure					LOW

Duration and Location	  		15-60 minutes/In or out of class

Group Size and Structure		Quartets or Quintets/Formal/Pre-organising needed
Description

This CoLT analyses, or breaks down processes we expect individual students to engage in when critically reading, listening, or viewing into several specific tasks that are then distributed among different individuals or teams. This division of labour allows students to concentrate on learning and performing one aspect at a time of these complex critical thinking processes and to see how re-combining the different tasks through groupwork can contribute to their understanding and learning. In preparing this technique, the most challenging aspect is determining how to follow up on the groupwork in a way that will help students meaningfully synthesise the various information and opinions they have heard.

Procedure

1.	Form student groups of four or five, assigning each individual in the team, or each team, one of the following roles:

Summarisers - Prepare a summary of no more than seven most important points.
Questioners - Prepare at least three substantive questions about the material.
Proponents - List at least three points you agreed with and state why.
Critics - List at least two points you disagreed with or found unhelpful and state why.
Example givers - Give at least three examples of key concepts presented.

Make certain that students understand the purpose of the exercise and the intended outcomes.

2.	Present the lecture, show the video, or assign the reading. The actual listening, viewing, or reading can take place in or out of class or, in some cases, on line.
3.	Give teams some class time to prepare to present their analyses, whether as oral or written presentations. Again, these can be done online. Specify and limit what each team will be responsible for presenting, to avoid unhelpful repetition. Assign clear time/length limits.
4.	Follow up group presentations with individual assignments that build on and extend this exercise.

Groupwork Feedback Form 

1.	Overall, how effectively did your group work together on this assignment?  
  (circle the appropriate response)	

	1	2	3	4	5
	not at all	poorly	adequately	well	extremely well

2.	How many of the five group members participated actively most of the time?  
  (circle the appropriate number)	

	0	1	2	3	4	5

3.	How many of you were fully prepared for the groupwork most of the time?  
  (circle the appropriate number)	

	0	1	2	3	4	5

4. 	Give one specific example of something you learned from the group 
	that you probably wouldn't have learned on your own.  

5.	Give one specific example of something the other group members learned from you
 that they probably wouldn't have 	learned without you.  

6.	Suggest one specific, practical change the group could make 
	that would help improve everyone's learning.

Reference:  Angelo, T.A. & Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques:  A Handbook 	
	for College Teachers, 2nd edition.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 349-351.

Applications Card

DIRECTIONS:  Please take a moment to recall the ideas, techniques, and strategies we've discussed -- and those you've thought up -- to this point in the session.  Quickly list as many possible applications as you can.  Don't censor yourself!  These are merely possibilities.  
You can always evaluate the desirability and/or feasibility of these application ideas later.

Interesting 													Some possible 
IDEAS/TECHNIQUES									APPLICATIONS of those
from this session										ideas/techniques to my work	

																									

Reference:   Angelo, T.A. & Cross, K.P. (1993).  Classroom Assessment Techniques:  A Handbook 	
	for College Teachers, 2nd ed.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 236-239. 

A Few References on Improving Teaching and Learning Quality 

Ambrose, S.A., et al. (2010). How Learning Works: Seven Research-based Principles for Smart Teaching. 
     	San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Anderson, L. & Krathwohl, D.R. (Eds.) (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessment: 
 	A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (Abridged Ed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon.

Angelo, T. (2012). Designing subjects for learning: Practical, research-based principles and guidelines.  In Hunt, L. &   
	Chalmers, D. University Teaching in Focus: A Learning-centred Approach. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 93-111.

Biggs, J. & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for Quality Learning at University: What the Student Does. 4th ed. Berkshire, England:
	McGraw-Hill/Open University Press.

Davis, B.G.  (2009). Tools for Teaching, 2nd ed.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Hattie, J. A. C. (2009). Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. New York: Routledge.

Kuh, G.D. et al. (2006).  What Matters to Student Success: A Review of the Literature. Washington, DC: 
 	National Postsecondary Education Cooperative, U.S. Dept. of Education Institute of Education Sciences.

Pascarella, E. & Terenzini, P. (2005). How College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to Teach in Higher Education, 2nd ed. London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Svinicki, M.D. (2004). Learning and Motivation in the Postsecondary Classroom. Bolton, MA: Anker.

And on Groupwork and Cooperative/Collaborative Learning

Barkley, E.F., Cross, K.P. & Major, C.H. (2005). Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty.
 	 San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Davidson, N. & Worsham, T. (Eds.). (1992). Enhancing Thinking through Cooperative Learning.  New York: 
   	Teachers College Press.

Mazur, E. (1997). Peer Instruction: A User’s Manual. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Michaelsen, L., Knight, A. B. & Fink, L.D. (Eds.). (2002). Team-based Learning: A Transformative Use of Small Groups. 
 	Westport, CT: Greenwood.

Millis, B.J. &  Cottell, P.G. (1998).  Cooperative Learning for Higher Education Faculty.  Phoenix, AZ:  Oryx Press.

Sibley, J. Ostafichuk, P., et al. (2014). Getting Started with Team-based Learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Online Resources on Cooperative/Collaborative Learning

Effective groupwork strategies for the college classroom. Downloaded 17 February 2014 from http://www.cincinnatistate.edu/online/faculty-resources/Effective%20Group%20Work%20Strategies%20for%20College%20Classroom.pdf

Group process. Downloaded 18 February 2014 from
http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/student-toolkits-2/working-in-groups/group-process/

How to design effective online group work.  Downloaded 18 February 2014 from
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/how-to-design-effective-online-group-work-activities/

Turn to your neighbor: The official peer instruction blog. Downloaded 17 February 2014 from http://blog.peerinstruction.net/