Group assignments: Improving the experience for students and teachers

Since early 2016, Navitas teachers globally have participated in more than 18,000 hours of professional development in courses run by L&T Services.

Three months after the end of their course, participants are asked to consider what changes they have made to their practice. The Strategy Sessions series invites those teachers to share a learning and teaching challenge and their strategies and learnings from the process.

Each session includes Q&A discussion with the presenter and other attendees to help you connect with others in the learning and teaching community.


While potentially providing students with a great opportunity to collaborate with their peers, group assignments are fraught with the complexity and stress of human interactions, particularly when combined with submission deadlines. As teachers, we often assume that students can ‘magically’ plan and organise group interactions and deliver outstanding assignments and on time. How can teachers expect this without providing some guidance about how groups actually operate?

In this recording, Lee Ridge highlights some of the strategies that have been used to increase student collaboration and improve outcomes. Additional notes by Dr Jane Rouse, La Trobe University (Sydney Campus) Psychologist, on how to guide students to effectively complete group work are provided in the presentation slides.

Explore the slides below:

To continue the conversation, contact Lee Ridge, or share your thoughts and ideas about ways encourage student collaboration via YammerTwitter and/or LinkedIn with the hashtag #assessmentdesign.