Abstract:

Amid recent provocations regarding the place of groupwork in contemporary Higher Education assessment, this paper presents qualitative findings regarding students’ social constructions of its value and challenges. We find that students’ critiques of groupwork centre on questions of assessment validity, soft skills development, demonstration of learning outcomes, and (un)fairness.

The study arises from a research project concerning learner perceptions of academic integrity conducted at an Irish university during the 2023-24 academic year. The qualitative data which inform it were collected via a series of seven focus groups aimed at developing nuanced insights into learners’ understandings of and views on academic integrity, both as a broad concept and specifically in light of generative artificial intelligence (genAI).

We aim here to situate learners’ co-constructed ideas on groupwork in the discourse of assessment approaches and assessment validity after genAI. We find that students tended to conceive of group-based assessment as potentially less valid than individual assessment tasks as a means of demonstrating achievement of learning outcomes, but its perceived value as a means of developing transferable skills is thematically prominent. This has interesting implications in both practical and policy terms as the sector continues to reimagine assessment.

Notably, one key social benefit of groupwork articulated by participants was its potential for individual workload alleviation. However, this was counterbalanced by a similarly notable trend toward disliking groupwork due to uneven individual workload allocations. The focus on imbalance between individual and group agency suggests that pragmatic rather than holistic groupwork approaches may contribute to some of the more problematic narratives surrounding the approach.

Connected to this somewhat instrumental understanding of the mechanics of groupwork is a substantial perception of an almost inherent unfairness. In contrast to those participants who valued the opportunity to cultivate effective collaboration skills, a significant cohort felt personally disadvantaged by being required to work in a group context, citing uneven contribution from individual members, logistical challenges, and instances of unearned success. This recalls the challenge of ensuring fairness in a dramatically changed assessment landscape and highlights the particular need for attention to parity of experience in group tasks, which are increasingly recommended as a means by which oral and/or synchronous elements can be integrated into assessment.

The paper closes with reflections on the limitations and opportunities of group-based assessment, inviting colleagues to reflect upon design decisions which may optimise or minimise the utility of group-oriented tasks in their contexts. We also offer concluding thoughts on implementation factors and their possible interactions with students’ learning and assessment experiences.

Keywords:

Higher Education, assessment, group-based assessment, social learning.