Group Evaluations

Stephanie Salensky

3/29/2016

The Way It Works

Group Evaluations

Group Evaluations, are implemented at all levels of

Education. From kindergarten to Graduate work, they are
improving academic performances of students at any
level. Group evaluations invoke peer pressure from
others in the group that make the individual student
participate equally and with accountability. This will
include accountability in preparation for the evaluation as
well as working together to actually complete it. Along
with the division of labor, group evaluations create the
potential for cross learning, teaching and mentoring
(Stelzer, 2010).

Stelzer says, the power of the team comes from

the potential to combine resources, specialize and
divide the work, and build motivating
camaraderie. As a result, teams will perform
better than the individual members of the team
acting alone (Stelzer, 2010).
In addition to helping their peers understand and
learn course material, the group will encourage each
other, which increases each students self-confidence. One
study found that this increase in confidence seemed to
lead to an increase in understanding of the concepts being
measured (Nebesniak, 2010). Another study found that
students perceived the peer-led groups to be more
efficient than individual work (West, 2013).

#18

Who It Helps

Research has shown

that group evaluations and
cooperative learning
groups have a positive
impact on all students in
any classroom. Students
with mild to moderate
learning disabilities, as
well as students with
ADHD, greatly benefit from
group evaluations. The
students trust that their
peers will help them if they
do not understand. This
trust creates a confidence
booster which helps many
students with lower ability
levels to engage and
actively participate in the
evaluation. The group will
also benefit those students
who struggle with starting
assignments by giving
positive feedback and
suggestions on where to
begin.

How to Use Group Evaluations

Procedures

Students will interact simultaneously in a group with positive interdependence and

equal participation in order to complete an evaluation of some kind. Nebesniaks study
suggests developing guidelines for what a good cooperative team member does and does
not do before hand to define what equal participation means and facilitate accountability.
Implementation of group evaluations is simple. The teacher will pair students up to
complete a test together. Group members should be chosen by coordinating a balance
between each students strengths and weaknesses in the tested material. Students will discuss
material with each other, help one another understand it, and make informed unanimous
decisions about the answer choice.

RESOURCES

Nebesniak, A. L., & Heaton, R. M. (2010). Student Confidence & Student

Involvement. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 16(2), 96-103.
Stelzer, L., & Coll-Reilly, J. (2010). Collaborative Team Testing to Support
Individual Learning: Can Teamwork Motivate Learning? Contemporary Issues
in Education Research (CIER) CIER, 3(12), 7-16.
West, R. E., Williams, G. S., & Williams, D. D. (2013). Improving Problembased Learning in Creative Communities Through Effective Group Evaluation.
Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 7(2).