Centre for Computing Science Education

The IT industry nowadays puts a lot of focus on teamwork. Therefore, helping Computer Science (CS) Higher Education (HE) degree students develop teamwork skills should be seen as essential for their future employability. One way of doing this is by getting students to practice teamwork through group assignments. However, this poses challenges in ensuring fairness and student equality. Moreover, a negative student attitude towards teamwork can lead to discontent and resistance to contributing to team activities. This paper presents efforts towards developing an approach to group assignments, and associated support, that aim to tackle the above issues. These were applied in an introductory undergraduate second year Software Engineering course in the School of Informatics of the University of Edinburgh. They were evaluated with students using four questionnaires and course feedback. Results were varied and some unexpected. They showcase that, on one hand, bringing teamwork into teaching can enhance students’ teamwork skills and improve their attitude towards teamwork. On the other, efforts to offer equal chances of success in the assignment can lead to feelings of inequality and unfairness amongst high achievers, and fear of discussions with peers can lead to unfair marks for students who do not pull their weight.