A Holistic Overview of Studies to Improve Group-Based Assessments in Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

There is a soaring demand for work-ready graduates who can quickly adapt to an ever-challenging work environment. Group-based assessments have been widely recommended as a means to develop the skills required for the world of work. However, group-based assessments are perceived as challenging for both students and educators. This systematic literature review (SLR), based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), focuses on analyzing and synthesizing the existing literature on group-based assessments. A four-step approach was undertaken in order to conduct this research. The SLR identified 71 relevant articles, analyzed using thematic analysis with the aid of NVivo software. An open coding approach was adopted to generate codes. The validity of the SLR process and the reliability of the research tool were maintained through the use of trustworthiness. The findings identified dominant themes such as self- and peer evaluations, training students for group work assessments, group formation, group size, and the role of academics and technology in facilitating group processes. The outcomes of this review contribute significantly to the design and administration of group-based assessments in higher education by providing academics with practical guidelines to effectively facilitate group-based assessments which fit the purpose.

Towards Holistic Education: Synthesizing Personality Consciousness, Emerging Technologies, and Philosophical Considerations in Education System Evolution

“…If the organisational and methodological structure is brought to a common appropriately oriented denominator, the integrity of education will be agreed at least in the functional dimension. Integrity in the individual dimension is expressed in the ability of the subject of the educational system to self-assess (Tumpa et al, 2022) as an element of synergistic self-organisation. Synergy in education is expressed in the strategic cooperation (Othman et al, 2023).…”

The Development of a Guideline in Assessing Students’ Creation Video-Based Project in Programming SubjectThe Development of a Guideline in Assessing Students’ Creation Video-Based Project in Programming Subject

“…To harmonize the discussion, the moderator pointed out the systematic literature review conducted by (Tumpa et al, 2022a) who found that peer-assessments have been widely investigated, but not self-assessments. Thus, she contended that selfassessments should, therefore, be explored further to understand the dynamics of student learning.…”

Design team formation using self-assessment and observer-assessment techniques: mapping practices in a global network of universities

“…Based on the explored literature that relates to team formation, we can find that in the purposeful approaches to team formation, the process of recognition of the criterion is performed in either of two methods, self-assessment and observer-assessment (see e.g. Tumpa et al 2022).…”

“…That leaves observer-assessment as a strategy, where the observer is in this case the teacher composing the teams. While there is some literature (Wenninger 2019; Tumpa et al 2022) on assessing team performance in light of summative and formative assessment (i.e. feedback and grading), using observer-assessment techniques in the team formation phase is under-addressed in the literature.…”