The Impact of an Alternative Evaluation for Group Work in Teacher Education on Students' Professional Development

Abstract

This research studies the effectiveness and impact of the use of an alternative evaluation tool for group work in teacher education courses. It shows that as a newly developed alternative evaluation for group work, the tool has displayed positive results and eflectiveness in promoting students' learning in the social foundation courses and in their professional and personal development. The merits of this alternative evaluation reside in facilitating higher motivation, participation, critical thinking, and application. More importantly, it fosters a democratic and constructive environment and allows students to develop their professional thinking, knowledge, and skills through direct experience. The results of this study also point out the issues and concerns forfurther study.

Enabling Group-Based Learning in Teacher Education: A Case Study of Student Experience

“…An empirical understanding of pre-service teachers' experiences of GBL is largely limited to evaluative studies with a focus on: undergraduate perceptions of assessment tools including group task-based assignments, peer assessment, and problem based learning (PBL) scenarios (Crowe & Pemberton, 2002;Di & Lee, 2000;Hanrahan & Isaacs, 2001). These writings illuminate ideas for teacher educators to consider.…”