Enhancing 21st Century Skills Through Digital Collaborative Assessment Practices in Lesotho Schools

Abstract

Collaborative assessment, particularly in digitally connected environments, is becoming crucial in education setting. Studies showed that collaborative assessments are often highly structured learning activities that aim to guide and empower students to refine their skills in reviewing the work of their peers against the set criteria. Even although these practices can be essential in fostering 21st century skills, students are not aware of them as they are still taught and assessed through traditional approaches because teachers tend to avoid integrating collaborative practices in their teaching. Therefore, the aim of this study is to awaken teachers’ collaborative assessment practices and recommend strategies that foster collaborative learning. In doing this, a collaborative learning theory was adapted to underpin the study. The study used a systematic literature review, where the process commenced with problem identification from articles and grey literature. Articles were first screened by their titles to find relevance. A further screening was performed by reading abstracts and irrelevant articles were excluded. Eligibility was another criterion for inclusion and exclusion by reading full-texts and these were included in the final analysis. The study identified that digital collaborative assessment has several benefits to the students: it improves problem-solving; encourages social interaction; promotes diversity; improves communication skills; encourages engagement and develops critical thinking skills. The study also recommends the best practices of carrying out digital collaborative assessments that teachers should follow when designing active group activities; implementing project-based learning; devoting time to team building. When higher education aligns the assessment with curricula objectives, collaborative assessment can effectively impact learning.