How the University of Auckland transformed group assessments with FeedbackFruits
The University of Auckland, New Zealand’s top-ranked university, is a recognized leader in research excellence and innovative teaching methodologies. Constantly seeking to improve student outcomes, the university embraces cutting-edge technologies to enhance learning experiences.
Among its innovative educators is Nuddy Pillay, a Professional Teaching Fellow with extensive experience across primary, secondary, and tertiary education in South Africa and New Zealand. Having rich experience in the education sector especially in indigenous education contexts, Nuddy has a strong background in teaching and learning, curriculum design, academic leadership, and meeting the needs of diverse learners.
Nuddy's mission is to empower learners and educators to achieve their full potential and contribute to the social and economic development of their communities. He is passionate about creating engaging and inclusive learning environments that foster interpersonal trust, collaboration, and performance.
The University of Auckland, New Zealand’s top-ranked university, is a recognized leader in research excellence and innovative teaching methodologies. Constantly seeking to improve student outcomes, the university embraces cutting-edge technologies to enhance learning experiences.
Among its innovative educators is Nuddy Pillay, a Professional Teaching Fellow with extensive experience across primary, secondary, and tertiary education in South Africa and New Zealand. Having rich experience in the education sector especially in indigenous education contexts, Nuddy has a strong background in teaching and learning, curriculum design, academic leadership, and meeting the needs of diverse learners.
Nuddy's mission is to empower learners and educators to achieve their full potential and contribute to the social and economic development of their communities. He is passionate about creating engaging and inclusive learning environments that foster interpersonal trust, collaboration, and performance.
Context
Context
In the Tertiary Foundation Certificate for Business, students engage in team-based projects designed to build essential business competencies—such as learning management principles, effective collaboration, and communication in diverse settings.
Students in this course come from a wide range of backgrounds:
“Some are adult learners, some are school leavers,” Nuddy explains, “many are aiming to improve their GPA to gain university admission.”
With classes of up to 150 students, traditional group assessments proved problematic. Regardless of their individual contributions, students received the same grade, leading to widespread dissatisfaction and disengagement.
“I was frustrated, and so were the students,” Nuddy admits. “It didn’t make sense to award everyone the same grade when some students clearly contributed more than others.”
The solution: FeedbackFruits Group Member Evaluation & AI Feedback Coach
To solve this, Nuddy turned to FeedbackFruits, implementing two core tools:
- Group Member Evaluation: Enables students to assess both themselves and their peers using customizable rubrics and tracked participation.
- AI Feedback Coach: Offers real-time support to help students write clear, constructive, and respectful feedback.
“FeedbackFruits provided exactly the solution I needed. It gave me both quantitative and qualitative data from students about their learning in a team environment,” Nuddy shared.
The implementation process: Co-creation, collaboration, and AI-enhanced feedback
Activity: Peer & self-assessment of team-based project
Course: Tertiary Foundation Certificate (Business course)
Class Size: 100–150 students
- Objective: Acquire business knowledge while developing teamwork and interpersonal skills
- Task: Create a digital artifact (e.g., a presentation, video, or role-play)
- Phases: Formative (feedback only) + Summative (graded, worth 5% of the final grade)
Students were deeply involved in designing the assessment process. Nuddy facilitated a co-creation activity where students worked in small groups to answer:
- How should group projects be assessed?
- What criteria matter when evaluating peers?
- How would you like your own performance to be judged?
From their responses, a comprehensive rubric was developed, featuring four key dimensions:
Rubric Criteria:
- Workshop preperation - Attendance, punctuality, participation in meetings and workshops
- Team contribution/adding value – Impact on final output
- Task behaviours – Contribution to completing assigned tasks
- Relationship behaviours – Team collaboration and communication
Each criterion used a 4-point scale:
- Competent
- Becoming Competent
- Not Competent
- I Don’t Know This Student
FeedbackFruits streamlined the entire process—students submitted their ratings and written feedback directly through the platform.
To improve feedback quality and reduce moderation workload, Nuddy integrated the AI Feedback Coach, which helped students write constructive feedback and avoided inappropriate language.
“Moderating every student comment would’ve been impossible. The AI Feedback Coach helped students write better feedback—and saved me hours.”
The results: Higher engagement, honest feedback, and reduced workload
The impact was resoundingly positive.
For students:
- High engagement: Students actively participated in peer evaluation
- Anonymity encouraged authentic, honest feedback
- Evidence-based grading eliminated frustration over equal marks
- Improved peer relationships through respectful, constructive communication
“There was not a single student who was unhappy with the feedback they received,” Nuddy said. “That proved to me that the system worked—it encouraged honest self-reflection and peer review.”
Students also appreciated that marks were backed by clear data, which discouraged social loafing—a common problem in group assessments.
For instructors:
- Simplified grading through automatic score computation
- Reusable templates for formative and summative stages
- Analytics dashboard for tracking participation and performance
- Time saving thanks to automation and AI moderation
“It crunched the numbers and gave me a mark,” said Nuddy. “That took out all the hard work. It reduced my workload and gave me confidence in how marks were awarded.”
Future directions: Deeper insights & broader integration
With strong results from this implementation, Nuddy now plans to:
- Analyze trends in feedback based on gender and cultural background
- Explore deeper correlations between quantitative and qualitative feedback
- Experiment with new FeedbackFruits features, like:
- Expand FeedbackFruits' use beyond peer evaluation for wider pedagogical integration
“AI has enormous potential in education. Tools like these are not just nice-to-haves—they’re essential for our teaching.”
Conclusion
Through the thoughtful use of FeedbackFruits, the University of Auckland has set a new benchmark in equitable, effective group assessment. With structured peer evaluation, student co-creation, and AI-enhanced feedback, Nuddy Pillay has demonstrated how digital tools can transform traditional teaching into an engaging, empowering, and evidence-based learning experience.
This case study demonstrates what’s possible when educators embrace innovation and place students at the centre of the learning journey.
If you are seeking solutions to help enhance education quality, you can schedule a 1–1 consultation with one of our pedagogy experts who will provide you with personalized recommendations on course management and tools evaluation that align with your institution's strategic planning.
Assessment of learning outcomes
Notable outcomes
Possible variation
