Reading the introduction to Peter Williams' 2016 journal article, Assessing collaborative learning: big data, analytics and university futures was exciting as I saw all of the buzzwords that thrill me. Soft skills and cooperative learning and authentic learning and (the big one) analytics. Pedagogical trends they may be, but the idea of mainstream education taking on a role that focuses on real-world applicability alongside traditional educational subjects just excites me to no end. Studies such as this suggest that perhaps I am not alone in my preference for personal development situated in authentic learning. Will the culmination of these trends, the state of education, and technological advances materialize into concrete systematic changes in education or curriculum?
Welcome to the future (?)
The big phrase that stuck out to me in Williams' writing was in the purpose of his paper:
"The purpose of the paper is not to advocate the use of learning analytics across the board but to consider its potential in supporting a shift in focus from the assessment of individual students’ performance in isolation to the assessment of their performance as team players. A rider to this analysis is a strong recommendation for university leaders to deploy analytics not to exercise restrictive management and control over individual students’ learning, but to support and evaluate their collaborative working in realistic contexts."
In my professional life, I have encountered limited situations in which I am working alone as an individual. Often, there is some team collaboration or approval to be found within multiple facets of my work. I have found in working with certain co-workers, those that excelled the most academically are often the worst to collaborate with in a work project. My unsubstantiated hypothesis has always been that education is often self-centered. Suzy focuses so intently on her grades for each assignment/project/term that she does not find value in cultivating skills in a collaborative team atmosphere. Grades for group work often include individual components and Suzy is probably the type of person that will take on everyone's responsibilities to ensure above average marks.
The ideas about shifting focus away from "teaching for the test" and individual performance in favor of a "team player" assessment sounds futuristic, but is important.
Every year I have high-achieving students who get very upset at the prospect of a group project. I have often given the option to do alone, because I understood their feeling. But, you are right, that doesn't really prepare them for the real world.
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