Mr. Phillips should create a group work assignment chart. When the groups are established each member of the group chooses what portion of the assignment they will be handling. Each person then would be graded on the portion of the assignment they were assigned. A rubric for each section can be created so each student would know exactly what is expected of them. Part of the rubric should also include a peer to peer grade -let the members of the group evaluate what each one accomplished. This has made students independently responsible for their own work.

Mr. Phillips should have job roles thoroughly described before the group work begins. Each student within the group should be able to pick their role, and possibly "apply" for that role. This will allow students to know what they want, and prove they will do a good job at it. Once decisions have been made, the students should be grouped according to what their motivations were. During the group working time, feedback ticket out the doors should be completed to share what went well in their group for that day, and what did not. This will allow for students to express who worked well, but in a way that only Mr. Phillips can assess. This will allow Mr. Phillips to monitor groups based on what the students expressed.

If I had a situation like this during science class, I would give each student in that group a rubric to grade each other by. I would let my students know what is expected of them while they are in groups, and how each member should have a job. Lastly, I would get my students to turn these rubrics in anonymously so they can be better participants in group assignments.

This is a great opportunity to use a fair-share rubric. Fair share rubrics involve a little more work for the teacher, but the result is more equitable than traditional rubrics. Students are all grading each other according to the criteria on the rubric. They assign numbers according to the effect expended by each person. This factors into the final grade. I have found this to be a great way to grade group work/projects. Students are amazingly honest about themselves and their peers. Most of the time, there rubric grades are in-line with what I am witnessing in class.

Allowing students to assess their peers with the use of a rubric can allow them to express their concerns in a non-confrontational way. Some teachers do this solely at the completion of the project, but I find it works best when it is done at various stages of the project. This information will allow the group members to understand if their group thinks they are not contributing, and allows the teacher to notice any trends and address them or use the information to justify a student's final grade. Mr. Phillips should also give students time to create plan to divide the workload and have students submit it for his review!