Whether or not a group works together effectively is not a random event.  Instead, you have the utmost control over this. As such, we will allocate some class time to creating a group “contract,” that will include basic details about:

·       Roles

·       Expectations, including desired final grade

·       Foreseen challenges, and what will be done to manage them

·       Rough timeline of when work will be done

A template will be provided online. Additional considerations can be found at: Working effectively in groups

All group members are expected to contribute equally to group assignments. To help assess this, and to ensure group grades are allocated based on effort, a peer evaluation mechanism will be used. The mechanism is simple, and all group members have to agree to it.

You will be given 100 points for each member of the group. So, if you have four members, you get 400 points, and if you have 5 members, you get 500 points. As a group (that is together, and with everyone’s consent) you get to allocate the total number of points as you see fit. 

Example #1, ideal teamwork: If everyone contributes equally, you all would get 100 points and would get the actual grade from your group work.

Example #2, the team star: If one person does more work than others, you might allocate 115 points to that person, and 95 to the other three group members. The key point here is that you're trying to reward those people who put in more than the 'average' effort.  Without them having done that extra work, the overall project would have suffered and the overall grade would have been lower. Chances are that the people getting 95 points will actually get a better overall grade than if the 'team star' hadn't been there.

Importantly, if there are any issues with group work, this should be openly discussed within the group as it is happening. Our experience is that most group work issues can be solved by openly discussing expectations at the start of the project; you may even agree that some people will do more work than others and will get more “points” because of that. If things continue to get worse though, please contact me.

Submit the peer evaluation online after your project is submitted.

Having commitments outside of the course are not a valid excuse for doing less than your fair share of the project.

Overall discretion for the allocation of grades will be left to the instructor.


Last modified: Monday, 1 November 2021, 10:26 AM