How Educators Should Grade: Collaboration Matters
Written by: Abigail Zhang and Kristine Pau
Can educators prepare students for the workplace just by grading them based on their test scores? At Market Games, we believe that ensuring a student’s success after college means participation and collaboration should be integrated into the grading system.
According to an article from the Higher Education Development and Research journal, teacher’s expectations help drive a student’s motivation to learn. However, when researchers tried creating a participatory climate in a test-heavy classroom, they found that some students were hesitant because they were not used to that type of engagement in class.
Collaboration is a key skill in the workforce, so employers expect college students to enter with strong interpersonal skills and be able and happy to contribute to team discussions.
However, employers surveyed by Hart Research Associates for the Association of American Colleges and Universities feel that college graduates are not prepared in these areas that are important for workplace success. In fact, only 37% of employers say that students are prepared to work with others in teams.
In order to prepare students for long-term success, change must start in the classroom.
Participation can come in many forms. Learning how to voice one’s opinions in small group settings and working with peers to ideate and create is a form of participation that mimics real workplace dynamics. It is important to encourage participation in the classroom to foster interpersonal skill development early on. However, without an incentive, some students will still choose not to contribute. To encourage all students to participate and collaborate with one another, educators should signal expectations by having it as a portion of a student’s grade.
For our business simulation that places a high emphasis on collaboration and communication, Market Games has created an effective solution to address participation disparity in group dynamics by incorporating a peer evaluation function that serves as a strong measure for accountability.
To learn more about all the benefits of our Intro to Business game offer for your students’ success, click here.