Group assessment of a consultancy task

Group size: Small groups of up to 4 students
Teaching type: Group assessment
Division: Academic Administration Division
Subject: Consultancy
Tools: Canvas, Teams, Panopto, e-mail

Delivery

At the Oxford Strategy Challenge organised by the Careers Service, students are placed into groups of four and are briefed on a company who are facing a challenge. Members of this group draft and send a proposal letter to the company of ways to address this challenge. After the initial letter a meeting is held to present the initial proposal in further detail. After presenting to the client, group members report back on their experiences. The process is underpinned by reflective assessment, which is captured by way of short video assignments. Originally intended as a blended set of tasks, all face to face tasks can easily be adapted to communication via Teams meetings.

Strengths

In focusing on a real-world problem, students are practising real world skills. These include teamwork, problem solving, and using presentation skills amongst others. By placing a two-minute video assignment early on in the course students are encouraged to record their expectations. The reflective aspect to the course serves as a cognitive tool with which students can later access how accurate their expectations were. In addition, they are also practising useful online presentation skills which are pertinent to today’s working practices.

Limitations

Some students were unsure of the technical aspects of making and uploading their own videos. To assuage any concerns, a space for practice videos was made on the site to allow students to experiment.