We like to use multiple assessments to guide students as they work on mastering the goals of the course. Each problem fosters peer feedback and guidance, but students also have access to the rubrics the instructors use to grade the final projects. One use of these rubrics that students find helpful is to assess the products as they are producing a solution to the given problem. Students are better able to understand what is being evaluated and can clarify any misconceptions they may have. A critical component of PBL is making students responsible for their learning. The self-assessments require students to evaluate how working through the problem helps them master the student learning objectives for the course. A major rationale for our choice in using PBL pedagogy for this course is the metacognitive awareness it fosters in students. After leaving our course, students must be able to fully analyze a writing situation, choose the most appropriate genre, and implement the most effective composing processes to successfully complete the project.

The problem is designed in such a way so that both individual and group effort can be assessed. The successful and timely completion of the individual task forms the foundation of the completion of the group task. Equal participation by all members of the group is required. Peer evaluation makes the need to contribute actively crucial to group success. Peers provide important guidance and feedback as students work through writing the solutions to the problem. Finally, students evaluate their own progress using the self-assessment form.

Problem 2 is worth 25% of the total grade for the course.

Individual Letter
The individual letter is worth 10% of the total grade for the problem. The individual grading of the letter provides an opportunity to assess every group member's contribution and to acknowledge accountability toward the group effort. We use an assessment rubric (see assessments) to evaluate the individual letter. We monitor the group participation by listening in on discussion during the in class sessions, visiting the group pages and checking the nature of the postings. This process provides valuable insight into the involvement of individual groups' members and the group collectively during the course of problem solving.

White Paper
Each group receives a collective grade for the White Paper, which is the same for all members and is worth 5% of the grade for the problem. We use an assessment rubric for the purpose of evaluating the White Paper. Individual grades are awarded for the letter part of the solution, which then informs the White Paper produced collectively by the group.

Peer Evaluations and Self-Assessment
Students turn in evaluations (doc, pdf) for each member of the group and for themselves with the final group folder. The evaluation points for each member are added and averaged to account for 5 % of the final grade on the group project. Additionally, students write a short paragraph describing their contribution to the group effort. The self -assessment questionnaire is worth 5% of the total grade.

Rubric for individual letter (doc, pdf)
Rubric for white paper (doc, pdf)
Student self-assessment (doc, pdf)