Enhancing Two-stage Collaborative Exams by Incorporating Immediate Feedback

Collaborative testing is becoming a widely used method of assessment in science education, as well as many other disciplines. While performance gains have been consistently reported, learning gains have not been quite as clearly documented. Learning gains are often measured by assessing the retention of tested concepts. We designed and conducted a study to assess whether retention was greater in a two-stage collaborative exam where students received immediate feedback rather than multiple-choice with no feedback during the collaborative stage. All students first wrote the multiple-choice test individually before re-writing the exam in small groups and receiving feedback via scratch cards based on either the first or second half of the test, with no feedback for the other half. Two weeks later, students were given a retention quiz with five questions concept-matched to each half of the original test. There was no significant difference in retention found between the randomized groups. Interestingly, however, we observed that those who received feedback on the first half of the collaborative stage of the exam performed better on the collaborative exam overall, despite there being no difference in individual marks between the two groups. This effect remained even when the test component with feedback was marked dichotomously, without part marks awarded for correctness on the second or third attempt

Engineering Student Experiences of Group Work

Soft skills are a crucial component for success in today’s workplace as employers increasingly value work that is collaborative and encompasses diverse perspectives. Despite this, most engineering programs fail to explicitly teach students transferable skills, including the best practices of group work. This research sought to explore how undergraduate experiences of group work change over time. This research also investigated what reflecting on cooperative education (co-op) experiences tells us about teaching group work in academic settings. Despite frequently noting the influence of group work in developing their communication skills and brainstorming ideas over time, students become somewhat more frustrated over time with their experiences of group work, mainly due to conflicting personalities and ideas among team members and/or a “slacker” student. However, our findings also show that students become more confident working in teams over time, as upper-year students were more likely to assume a leadership role and self-reported higher past performance as a group member. This study offers insights into the changing group work experiences of undergraduate engineering students as they progress through coursework and engage in experiential learning and work-integrated learning opportunities, such as co-op placements. The findings of this study can inform educators on how to best incorporate methods for teaching transferable soft skills

Engineering Student Experiences of Group Work

Soft skills are a crucial component for success in today’s workplace as employers increasingly value work that is collaborative and encompasses diverse perspectives. Despite this, most engineering programs fail to explicitly teach students transferable skills, including the best practices of group work. This research sought to explore how undergraduate experiences of group work change over time. This research also investigated what reflecting on cooperative education (co-op) experiences tells us about teaching group work in academic settings. Despite frequently noting the influence of group work in developing their communication skills and brainstorming ideas over time, students become somewhat more frustrated over time with their experiences of group work, mainly due to conflicting personalities and ideas among team members and/or a “slacker” student. However, our findings also show that students become more confident working in teams over time, as upper-year students were more likely to assume a leadership role and self-reported higher past performance as a group member. This study offers insights into the changing group work experiences of undergraduate engineering students as they progress through coursework and engage in experiential learning and work-integrated learning opportunities, such as co-op placements. The findings of this study can inform educators on how to best incorporate methods for teaching transferable soft skills