Assessing Collaborative Projects
Do you have a favorite collaborative model? Did you learn somewhere that collaboration must/should follow a set of rules? Where did you first learn those rules/ideas? Lately, during the launch of several new collaborative projects, I’ve continued to go back to one source: The Collaboration Rubric.
Developed as a support mechanism for a scientific study on the formation and growth of tide pools, the collaboration rubric stands, in my opinion, as one of the best outlines for how to judge a collaborative project. The collaboration rubric, as it was applied in this study helps define the personal attributes of the collaborators. What I mean is the rubric helps to outline how to best judge a collaborator, and perhaps if they will be a worthy project member before it starts.
Judging collaborators is not an easy task. One has to special attention to the goals and deliverables of the project. Accountability is huge, and so is a sense of “calling people out”. Collaboration is about being open and honest with feedback. I’m not suggesting that it is a forum for finger pointing. But without the ability to bring to light the issues the project is faced with, the collaboration might fall apart. The collaboration rubric has helped me understand when to apply the collaborative paradigm and how to judge its success.
