Who EAP practitioners are in collaborative assessment: the eight collaborative assessment archetypes

Abstract

Who we are impacts how we feel about collaborative assessments. For some of us, the thought of assessing students through a group assignment sends shivers down the spine. For others, it is something we would like to be able to do but there is uncertainty around how to do so fairly. This paper presents an archive project arising from a research study into the EAP practitioner and collaborative assessment. The main theoretical output of that study explains the dimensions of collaborative assessment identity. Teachers may have very different attitudes towards and expectations around student collaboration, which means they will favour different collaborative assessment approaches. A sub-finding of the study was the identification of eight collaborative assessment archetypes, ranging from those thoroughly set against collaborative assessment to those who are facilitating it as best they can. Understanding the diversity in teachers’ stance toward collaborative assessment means we can better support them in developing their collaborative assessment literacy. Consequently, they will then be able to better guide and support students through a collaborative assignment, which can be a challenging but rewarding process. This paper outlines the eight collaborative archetypes and suggests avenues of future research and practice which could arise from them.