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ABSTRACT

We used data from a training program involving a large group of informatics schoolteachers who were trained in the learning activity management system (LAMS) using team-based learning methodology. Extending previous work, we introduced a numerical indicator for the peer evaluations that everyone performed on their peers in their group by introducing the improved project contribution score (IPCS). This way we quantified and summarized the feedback received by individuals within the teams by their colleagues. In parallel, time spent on activities’ sequences in LAMS was used as an objective indicator of learner engagement and its relation to IPCS was examined at different levels. While there was observed only a negligible negative correlation at the total sample level, using generalized linear mixed models and generalized additive mixed models, random forest, and clustering, we identified that team membership and team size were the dominant explanatory factors and showed that cluster-based profiles (high-time/average-IPCS, low-time/high-IPCS, low-time/low-IPCS) exist at deeper level. This could be a useful insight for the trainer as it can serve to identify differentiated support strategies to be applied to team members, especially if applied in a formative way. Finally, the application of peer evaluation and engagement within LAMS-supported group work fills in a sectoral gap, and our article applies patterns reported mainly in university coursework to competency-based, practice-oriented training programs.

Keywords: individual contribution, teamwork, objective evaluation, trainee engagement, lifelong learning