ICONS User Manual: Implementation Issues

Grades

Country-Team Roles
Team Organization
Decision-Making Procedures
Scenario
Position Papers
Communication
Foreign Language
Umpiring
Grade
Facilitation

Generally, a process for grading students for their participation in the simulation is developed by the individual facilitator in accordance with his or her particular philosophy. However, we can make the following observations and suggestions. The level of student participation is usually quite high, within the normal range of self-motivation. Generally, most of the students work very hard without instructor-imposed papers and exams. However, because students will always worry about grades, and because this type of course occasionally attracts students looking for a "free ride", we recommend some combination of the following steps:

Essay Exams: Depending on the framework in which the simulation is being conducted, it may be advisable to structure some of the learning around essay exams in which the students are encouraged to delve into the theoretical underpinnings of many of the issues they will face in the negotiation process.
Summary Paper: Having the students write a paper evaluating the process of, and assessing their role in, the simulation is a very useful exercise. Students should be encouraged to take advantage of the fact that the community is "opened" once the simulation ends, so that all teams can read all messages, not just their own.
Peer Evaluations: This type of assessment is very important, given that the students are working in an interdependent team atmosphere. It is useful to administer these evaluations at the conclusion of the exercise, and ask the students to confidentially evaluate those with whom they have had frequent contact during the course of the simulation. Since much of the work that the students do will presumably be done outside of class, these peer evaluations can be extremely valuable.

It is essential that the team facilitator have some set methods for evaluating student performance. Coordinators should think out the question of grading in advance, making sure that it is not too subjective and that students thoroughly understand it prior to committing to the simulation. This will eliminate the potential for problems at the conclusion of the exercise.