In-class worksheets are provided to guide students through scaffolded tasks over several tutorials, building towards a comprehensive final product and focusing on teamwork, accountability and practical application of skills.
Key features
Lane 1: Secure assessment
Scope for students to participate as individuals, pairs or groups (same groups or different weekly groups).
Flexibility to conduct assessment using printed handouts, or electronically via personal devices.
While final submission outcome is the same as a report or case study, this method enhances security and group accountability, as assessment is framed as a process not only a final submission.
Positively received by students due to built-in accountability and elimination of out-of-class group organisation.
Weekly peer evaluation and active class attendance encourage individual accountability and equitable contribution.
Marking can be staggered, reducing marking workload at the end of the teaching period and providing weekly feedback.
Worksheets can be adapted to online delivery, with groups working in break-out rooms using collaborative cloud documents, which are then saved and submitted at the end of each class. Security can be added using the Respondus lockdown browser.
How it works
Educators prepare worksheet activities before the teaching period, including clear instructions and logical progression that builds knowledge and supports collaboration. This could involve dividing up a report into individual components.
Educators run through the process in class one to two weeks before commencement of the assessment to familiarise students with expectations and reduce anxiety.
To ensure preparation for group collaboration, students complete required readings, watch lectures, and review pre-session content prior to each assessment worksheet session.
Students/groups work through structured worksheets during supervised tutorial time, submitting completed or partially completed work at each session’s conclusion.
If done in a group, students conduct a peer evaluation at the end of the tutorial to record each group member’s contributions. Contribution credit is distributed at the end of each session and included in the submission.
Educators collect physical worksheets at the end of each class session. If electronic, they check the LMS to ensure submission.
Worksheets can be marked incrementally after each tutorial. When the final worksheet is submitted for this assessment, educators also evaluate the student’s/group’s complete set of submissions as a final product.
Curtin snapshot
Case Study
A/Prof Michael Baird
“I developed this assessment technique to overcome the two biggest challenges in modern-day group assessments: getting students to come to class and reducing group problems.This successfully did both! Students love this assessment styleas they can leave the class stress–free, not having to worry about the marked work, nor their group members. Marking for the tutors also becomes easier, as they can keep track of the work and mark it weekly or at the end, as per their preference.”
Faculty of Business & Law
Michael’s example assessment
About my unit: Faculty of Business and Law | Around 200 students | In-person | Group work
In my unit, students choose a marketing brief from one group member’s prior assessment, then collaboratively create a Content Strategy Framework through in-class group worksheets. Over each of the final six weeks of the study period, groups complete and submit a worksheet that builds toward a final strategic recommendation. Groups are not formed prior to this assessment.
While I may provide guidance when necessary, groups work independently and draw from pre-reading and unit knowledge to work through different aspects of content strategy development. They are permitted to use their computer for any means necessary, but each worksheet is purposefully given to students as a printout, with the aim of gathering them around the paper, not focusing on their individual machines. The worksheets progress through a range of strategic components designed for two-hour tutorial completion, and include general questions and answers, diagrams and charts to be drawn, as well as tables to be completed.
As an optional aspect for other educators, I use a peer evaluation section for each worksheet, known in my assessment as the ‘participation credit system’, which takes the form of a $100 allocation. Members divide this amount based on individual contributions to that specific week’s work – if a member is absent, it is up to the other members whether the absentee can contribute virtually or receive $0 for that session. If a student is absent for legitimate reasons, they are provided with the option to contribute in-class, via phone, Teams, or messaging services.
I really enjoy running the in-class worksheet assessment as it has improved both engagement and individual accountability, and it’s great to see genuine collaboration in real time.
My advice
To run this assessment effectively, I recommend designing worksheets based on a previous assessment, ideally one that can be broken into fairly even parts, and sharing clear information about the participation credit system. It’s also useful during the in-class assessment time to have a timer app visible on the screen to help groups monitor progress and effectively manage their time, as they have to submit the worksheet at the end, regardless of completion!
Suggested marking criteria
Worksheet demonstrates excellent relevance to the selected client with clear, specific, and actionable content strategy recommendations.
Worksheets completed to an excellent standard with well-written summaries demonstrating clear student comprehension of material.
Clear, perfectly consistent messaging provided across all six weekly worksheets with seamless linking between submissions.
Active, equitable participation demonstrated through contribution to the assessment processes via discussions, questions and answers, and conducting any necessary research.
Note: Marking criteria and weighting are suggested guidelines. Specific descriptions should be adapted to relevant content and learning objectives.
