Effective Written Presentation

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The Front Cover

(The copy is centred between the left and right margins andnormally begins about three inches from the top of the page)

Evaluations Based on Students' Abilities

to Work Effectively as Part of a Group

in courses at Mohawk College

March 29, 1996


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Title Page

A title page contains the title of the report,for whom it was prepared, who prepared it and the date it was submitted.

Evaluations Based on Students' Abilities

to Work Effectively as Part of a Group

in Courses at Mohawk College

Preparedfor:

Instructor Name, Title

Prepared

by:

Student Name, student

information

Submission

date:March 29, 200?


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Formal Report

Document Type: monograph

Report Format: formalReport Type: comprehensive

Transmittal Letter

333 West Avenue South

Anywhere, ON Z9Z 9Z9

March 29, 200?

M. My Instructor, Professor

Some College, Main Campus

PO Box 2034

Anytown, ON Y8Y 8Y8

Dear M. Instructor:

In response to your request to look into the evaluation methods of Mohawk College students, we

have completed a report that investigates the current evaluation methods at Mohawk College andstudies the prevalence and impediments of evaluations based upon students' ability to work

effectively as part of a team.

The study revealed that the current typical course evaluation breakdown involves marks for

assignments and examinations as well as some for attendance and participation. There were little

or no evaluations based on students' ability to work effectively as part of a team.

Students felt that group assignments helped them understand the material in the course betterthan other evaluation methods and helped them prepare for the workplace. Students also thought

that evaluations based on students' ability to work effectively as part of a team did not evaluatethe students' understanding of the material as well as other evaluation methods and were not as

fair as other assignments.

Interviews with instructors demonstrated that instructors found group work assessments difficult


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to administer and hard to determine individual contributions to the group.

Based on these findings, the report recommends that administration at Mohawk College

1. review the academic literature to determine if group work does prepare studentsfor the workplace

2. conduct a wider study of students in other programs and all semesters todetermine how students are currently being evaluated

3. encourage evaluation of students using group work evaluations4. work with faculty to resolve the issues involved with administering group work

evaluations

Thank you for the opportunity to complete this study. You can contact us at 555-3333 if you

have any questions about the report.

Sincerely,

Student Name

Student Name


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Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Situation

We feel that the the ability to work effectively as part of a team, has not been incorporated aspart of the grading system at Mohawk College. If students are to reach their potential after

graduation, they should receive instruction and evaluation of their ability to work effectively aspart of a team.

Methods

In this report, we explored the ways in which students are evaluated in courses at Mohawk

College, determined students' thoughts about evaluating the ability to work effectively as part of

a team and interviewed four instructors to determine the rationale for current evaluation methodsand the reasons why there isn't more evaluation based on group work.

Findings

Reviewing the course outlines showed on average that 60% of student evaluations are midterms

and final exams, 30% of evaluations are based on quizzes and assignments, and 10% are basedon attendance.

A questionnaire showed that students felt that group assignments helped students understand the

material in the course better than other evaluation methods and helped students prepare for the

workplace. The same questionnaire found that students felt that group assignments did not

evaluate the student understanding of the material as well as other evaluation methods and werenot as fair as other assignments.

Interviews with instructors reinforced the views of students regarding the ability of groupassignments to prepare students for the workplace. The interviews demonstrated that instructors

have the following administrative problems when using group work assessments:

difficult to organize difficult to administer if group breaks down hard to determine if all members of the group contribute equally hard for groups to meet outside of class time and not enough time for group


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meetings during class

Recommendations

Based on these findings, the report recommends that the administration at Mohawk College do

the following:

1) review the academic literature to determine if group work does prepare students for the

workplace

2) conduct a wider study of students in other programs and all semesters to determine how

students are currently being evaluated3) encourage evaluation of students using group work evaluations

4) work with faculty to resolve the issues involved with administering group work evaluations

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Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Executive Summary i

Contents ii

Introduction 1Research 2

Findings 2

Course Outlines 3

Questionnaires 3

Focus Groups 4

Interviews 4

Conclusions 5

Recommendations 5References 6

Appendix A - Student Questionnaire 7

Appendix B - Results of Questionnaire 8

ii


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Body: Page 1

INTRODUCTION

The bookExcelerate: Growing in the New Economy lists four skills that are critical to success in

the next decade. In our experience, the first three skills - math skills, computer skills and

communication skills - have been incorporated into the curriculum of Mohawk College. We feelthat the fourth skill, the ability to work effectively as part of a team, has not been incorporated as

part of the grading system.

Rationale

If students at Mohawk College are to reach their potential after graduation, they should receiveinstruction and evaluation of their ability to work effectively as part of a team. If assignments

and assessments throughout the Mohawk College curriculum constantly reinforce the concept of

working together as a team, students would be better able to succeed upon graduation.

Scope

This report explores the ways in which students are evaluated in courses at Mohawk College. We

have used the courses that are currently offered within the core curriculum of the fourth semester

of the Business Administration program.

Methodology

Course Outlines

First we determined the amount of evaluation that is based upon group work within the specifiedcourses. The course outlines for the following eight Mohawk College course outlines were used

to determine evaluation types:

1. BA440: Business Finance 22. BA547: Operations Management 23. MA311: Business Statistics4. OB371: Introduction to Organizational Behaviour5. AC331: Accounting 3 - Financial6. BA545: Materials Management7. BA556: Distribution Management8. BA575: Consumer Behaviour


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QuestionnaireA questionnaire (see Appendix A) was distributed to current Businesss Administration class todetermine how they feel about current evaluation methods and compare these methods to

evaluations using group work. The questonnaire was completed by 20 respondents.

Focus GroupsAfter completing the questionnaire, we held two focus groups to discuss the results of thequestionnaire and determine students' thoughts about evaluating the ability to work effectively as

part of a team (Group A: 3 students; Group B: 4 students).

InterviewsFinally, we interviewed four of the eight instructors currently teaching these eight courses to

determine the following:

1. the rationale for current evaluation methods2. reasons why there isn't more evaluation based on group work

The instructors were from the following courses:

1. Business Finance 22. Operations Management3. Introduction to Organizational Behaviour4. Consumer Behaviour

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Body: Page 2

FINDINGS

A) Course Evaluation Methods

Reviewing the course outlines showed that three basic methods of evaluation were used:

midterm and final examinations; quizzes and assignments; and attendance.

We found that the average course evaluation consisted of 60% for Midterm and Final exams,

30% for Quiz and Assignmnents and 10% for Attendance (see Table 1).

Courses Midterm/FinalQuiz/Assignts Attendance

Business Finance 2 50% 40% 10%

OperationsManagement 2

60% 30% 10%

Business Statistics 50% 50% 0%

Introduction to

OrganizationalBehaviour

50% 35% 15%

Accounting 3 -

Financial

80% 20% 0%

Materials Management 70% 15% 15%

DistributionManagement

70% 20% 10%

Consumer Behaviour 50% 30% 20%

Average 60% 30% 10%

Table 1: Evaluation Methods for eight courses using Midterms and Final exams; Quizzes andAssignments; and Attendance.

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Body: Page 3

Figure 1: The Average Value of Evaluation Methods for fourth semester BusinessAdministration Courses.

There were no evaluations using group work indicated on the course outlines of the courses we

reviewed.

B) Efficacy of Evaluation

After determining the evaluation methods used in the fourth semester of the Business

Administration program, we distributed a questionnaire (the results have been tabulated in

Appendix A) to our classmates to determine their opinion of four evaluation methods: the three

contained in the course outlines and evaluations using group work.

We also asked students how often they have participated in team assignments.

The Questionnaire revealed the following results:

1) 80% of students thought group work help students very much or somewhat understand the

material, which was higher than all other methods of evaluation.

The percentage of students who felt that the other methods of evaluations helped students

understand the material very much or somewhat are as follows:

30% midterms and final exams

70% quizzes and assignments

40% attendance

2) 80% of students thought group work prepared them very much or somewhat for the

workplace.


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The results for the other methods of evaluations for preparation for the workplace were

significantly lower:

30% midterm and final exams50% quizzes and assignments

20% attendance

3) Students felt that group work evaluations reflected the material in the course similarly to

midterms and final exams and quizzes and assignments (60%), while attendance as a method of

evaluation was significantly lower (10%).

4) Students felt that group work evaluated the understanding of the course material (40% very

much or somewhat) less effectively than both midterms and final exams and quizzes and

assignments (50%) but still more effectively than attendance(10%).

5) Students felt that quizzes and assignments were fairer methods of evaluation (70% very much

or somewhat) than both midterms and final exams (50%) and group work (40%).

Figure 2 summarizes the findings for across these five topics.

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Body: Page 4

Figure 2: Percentage of Student Who Answered Very Much or Somewhat to the Questions

6) When questioned about the percentage of evaluations that are based on group work, all the

students answered not often (less than 20% of assignments) or not at all.

C) Focus Groups

Discussion with the two focus groups about the results of the questionnaire revealed the

following four main points, two that were positive and two that were negative

Positive:

1) Greater Understanding

Students felt that group work helped them understand the course material more because they

could help each other with the material as a group and because students would ask morequestions with their peers in small groups than they would with the instructor in a large class.

2) Workforce PreparationStudents felt that group work prepared them for the work force because they would have to work

effectively in groups in the workplace, but would encounter exams and quizzes less often.

Negative

3) Understanding Gaps


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Students felt that group work did not evaluate understanding as well as other evaluation methods,

except attendance, because evaluations of a group might reflect the abilities of the strongestmember of the group and not individual members.

4) Grades and Work Distribution

Because evaluations using group work may result in a grade that reflects the strongest member ofthe group, the students did not think group work was as fair as other evaluation methods.Students also felt that during group work evaluations, the work was not always spread equally

among the members, although the marks often were.

D) Instructor Viewpoints

The four instructors were interviewed separately and asked to comment on current evaluation

methods and the apparent lack of evaluations using group work.

The following is a summary of the instructors' views regarding evaluation methods:

1) Midterms and Final Examinations and Quizzes and Assignments

easy to administer the established methods of evaluating students guaranteed that each student was being evaluated on their own knowledge guaranteed that each student that passed had achieved a measurable

standard

2) Attendance

recommended to instructors by Student Success counsellors ensured that students were present to receive information from lectures,

etc.

did not measure students' abilities at all3) Group Work

difficult to organize difficult to administer if group breaks down hard to determine if all members of the group contribute equally hard for groups to meet outside of class time and not enough time for

group meetings during class helps students prepare for the workplace

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Body: Page 5

CONCLUSIONS

1. Amount of Group Evaluations

A review of the course outlines showed that there are no evaluations using group work in the

fourth semester of the core courses in the Business Administration program. A survey of thestudents enrolled in this semester showed that group work evaluations were used for less than

20% of assignments or not at all.

2. Workplace Efficacy

The same survey demonstrated that students felt that group work helped them to understand the

material in the course better than other evaluation methods. This survey also showed that

students also felt that group work evaluations better prepared students for the workplace aftergraduation. An interview with a sample of the instructors who teach courses in the fourth

semester of the Business Administration program also believed that group work helped prepare

students for the workplace.

3. Fairness and Administration

Both the students and instructors felt there was a problem of fairness and grading of students

who participate in group work assignments. As well, instructors felt that there were manydifficulties administering group work assignments.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Given that our study was based upon a limited source (one book,Excelerate: Growing inthe New Economy), before acting on any of the findings, the administration at Mohawk

College might

o review the academic literature to determine if group work does prepare studentsfor the workplace.


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2. Given that our study was based upon students and courses in one program during onesemester, the administration at Mohawk College should

o conduct a wider study of students in other programs and all semesters todetermine how students are currently being evaluated.

3. Based on the statements contained inExcelerate: Growing in the New Economy, theresponse of students and instructors, and if this information is reinforced by furtherinvestigation, the administration at Mohawk College should

o encourage evaluation of students using group work evaluations; ando work with faculty to resolve the issues involved with administering group work

evaluations.

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References

REFERENCES

1.Beck, Nuala.Excelerate: Growing in the New Economy. New

York: Random House, 1994.

2.Doe, Jane. Personal interview. March 15, 2002.

3. Mann, Rick. Personal interview. March 16, 2002.

4.Melody, Sally. Personal interview. March 23, 2002.

5.Smith, John. Personal interview. March 24, 2002.

Mohawk College Hope Page, 10 March 10, 2002,

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Appendix A

APPENDIX A

The Student Questionnaire

Please answer the following questions with regard to the evaluation method indicated beforeeach series of questions. Chose the response that most reflects your feelings about the question.

(Number of responses to survey in bold)

Part 1: Midterms and Final Examinations

1. Did this evaluation method help you to understand the material?

2 a) very much

4b) somewhat

12 c) not very much

2 d) not at all

2. Did this evaluation method appropriately evaluate your understanding of the material?

4 a) very much

6b) somewhat

6 c) not very much

4 d) not at all

3. Did this evaluation method reflect the material covered in the course?

4 a) very much

8b) somewhat

6 c) not very much

2d) not at all

4. Do you feel this method of evaluation is fair?

4 a) very much

6b) somewhat

6c) not very much


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4 d) not at all

5. Do you think this method of evaluation prepares you for the workplace?

0 a) very much

6b) somewhat10 c) not very much

4 d) not at all

Part 2: Quizzes and Assignments


6 a) very much8b) somewhat

4 c) not very much

2 d) not at all


4 a) very much

6b) somewhat

8 c) not very much

2 d) not at all



6 c) not very much

2 d) not at all


6 a) very much

8b) somewhat

4 c) not very much

2 d) not at all


4 a) very much

6b) somewhat

8 c) not very much

2 d) not at all


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Part 3: Attendance


2 a) very much

6b) somewhat6 c) not very much

6 d) not at all


0 a) very much

2b) somewhat

4 c) not very much

14 d) not at all


0 a) very much

2b) somewhat

2 c) not very much

16 d) not at all


4 a) very much

6b) somewhat

6 c) not very much4 d) not at all


2 a) very much

2b) somewhat

4 c) not very much

12 d) not at all

Part 4: Working as Part of a Team


8 a) very much

8b) somewhat

2 c) not very much

2 d) not at all


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2 a) very much

6b) somewhat

5 c) not very much

7 d) not at all


6 a) very much

6b) somewhat

4 c) not very much

4 d) not at all



6 c) not very much

6 d) not at all


10 a) very much

6b) somewhat

2 c) not very much

2 d) not at all

21. How often have you participated in team assignments?

0 a) very often (over 75% of assignments)

0b) fairly often (between 50% and 74% of assignments)

0 c) average (between 21% and 49%)

12 d) not often (greater than 0 but less than 20%)

8 e) not at all

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