Student’s Evaluations of group process via a Group Awareness Tool
Abstract: A group awareness tool was developed to encourage students to evaluate and share group process explicitly in an online collaborative learning context. It consisted of three phases: planning, monitoring and evaluating. It ensured group awareness by letting students evaluate their group process and displaying the results. The tool was implemented in an online course for a group project and the reliability and validity of student evaluations were investigated. A total of thirteen students from four groups were recruited. Results suggested that students’ evaluations represented their group process well. Especially the evaluations of the monitoring phase were closely associated with the overall quality of group product and collaboration. Other collaborative learning issues related to the group awareness were discussed.