Summative Wiki group assessment on a Stage 2 elective module
Stefanie Reissner
The group assignment on the Managing Change module uses a Blackboard-supported wiki to support the critical evaluation of a change theory. A wiki is a ‘website or database developed collaboratively by a community of users’ (Oxford Dictionaries 2014). It is a joint effort by a group of users, all of whom can make changes, contributions, or corrections to content (Merriam Webster 2014) and consists of a number of linked-up pages. A wiki is not supposed to be read in a linear fashion and that each page should make sense if read on its own. Students are given a list of different aspects that they may want to cover in their wiki, of which they must choose three. Issues included are: the origins and development of the theory, its application and scope for further development as well as specific critiques that have been provided in the literature. Students are also given guidance on what their wiki must contain to satisfy the asessment criteria. They are required to provide a cover page that explains the structure of the wiki, a concise description of the change theory, one page each for the three issues chosen for investigation, and a list of reference according to the Harvard system.
There are three main reasons for choosing a wiki over a more regular report format. Firstly, the non-linear wiki format requires students to think differently about their argument and the structure of their work. I expect them to be more aware of the link between what they are saying and how they are saying it to improve their argumentation and writing skills. Secondly, the wiki is IT-mediated and therefore closer to the experiences of current technology-savvy students. I expect them to engage better with such an interactive online activity than regular group work. Thirdly, the wiki allows markers to see when the work was last changed and by whom, thereby gaining some insights into the group dynamics and individual members' input.
The external examiner commended the wiki as an example of innovative teaching, but student feedback is mixed: Some students would prefer a traditional report to the wiki, while others produce excellent work that I have rarely seen in more traditional assessment formats. The current cohort has taken particularly well to the wiki, engaging with both the task and the format with students thinking about how different parts of their assignment hang together (evidenced through hyperlinks between pages and also to external web content).
Wiki assessment
Assessment and Feedback, Student Engagement
Undergraduate (Stage 2)
Newcastle University Business School
Blackboard
Up to 100 students in a group
To try something new