Assessing Collaborative Eefforts

When a student does not want to collaborate, I believe every effort should be made to bring that student into the group. As Professor Siemens pointed out, most professional positions and careers are never carried out by a person working alone. All professions require a certain degree of collaboration.

If we can discern the root cause of the individual’s reluctance to participate, the group can utilize positive behavior support and encouragement to draw the individual out. I do believe the group should not be penalized for the failure of one individual to participate. Conversely, I do not believe the non participating individual should be permitted to capitalize on the work of others.

This is where the instructor must step in and make all players aware of the benefits and consequences of a failure to perform. I participate in a real world scenario of collaborative development. The group creates and writes professional development programs for a technology company. At the end of each development session, participants answer a short questionnaire regarding the contributions of the members of the group. The questions are crafted in a way that reveals individual levels on contribution. In a educational setting, I believe a similar tool could be developed by the instructor for his use.

Oliver