- Title
- An online peer assessment method in computational-based engineering courses : combining theoretical and computer tools
- Creator
- Javidan, Fatemeh
- Date
- 2021
- Type
- Text; Conference paper
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/194813
- Identifier
- vital:18425
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org/10.52202/066488-0032
- Identifier
- ISBN:9781713862604 (ISBN)
- Abstract
- CONTEXT As its name suggests, peer assessment involves each student to take active part in providing feedback and in some cases, evaluation of the learning outcome of their peers. Peer assessment can introduce several advantages to the learning process such as increasing the student motivation, critical thinking and development of qualitative and quantitative arguments. This research proposes a peer assessment method for computational-based assignments and describes the process of implementing it in an online “Structural Analysis” subject. PURPOSE OR GOAL Some experts have criticised peer assessment procedures and questioned the ability of students to provide reliable evaluation. There are concerns raised in the literature on the usefulness and reliability of student peer reviews including inconsistency in the feedback and quantitative assessment marks. This study aims to implement an online tool to increase the engagement and partnership of students in the virtual environment and replace some of the lengthy computational processes with computer-based tools. The goal of the proposed method is also to increase the reliability of peer assessment activity by providing evidence-based evaluations. APPROACH OR METHODOLOGY/METHODS The design of the peer assessment task has been implemented in a second year “Structural Analysis” subject on the topic of “Analysing Indeterminate Structures”. The delivery of this task was examined in a methodological approach as well as an executional approach. In the methodological approach, benefits were investigated, and comparison was made with previous peer-assessment procedures. The execution of this task which includes a combination of manual calculations and computer methods is outlined using available LMS tools. ACTUAL OR ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES The method proposed in this study introduces benefits to student learning and engagement in theoretical computational-based topics. This method is built on suggestions to mitigate some of the downsides of peer assessment reported in previous literature. For instance, to escape the double volume of computational effort, to reduce the reluctancy of students and to eliminate the potential errors they make in evaluating the computational work of their peers, the assessment phase is proposed to be done using a “Structural Analysis” computer software. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARY Online peer assessment combining theoretical methods and computer-based approaches has provided a means to overcome some of the shortcomings traditionally associated with this approach. These improvements include an increase in the level of consistency and reliability of peer-assessment results compared to traditional approaches. The implementation of the method also shows approximately 25% increase in student active participation. Copyright © Fatemeh Javidan, 2021.
- Publisher
- Research in Engineering Education Network
- Relation
- 9th Research in Engineering Education Symposium and 32nd Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference: Engineering Education Research Capability Development, REES AAEE 2021, Perth, Australia, 5-8 December 2021, 9th Research in Engineering Education Symposium and 32nd Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference, REES AAEE 2021: Engineering Education Research Capability Development Vol. 1, p. 282-289
- Rights
- All metadata describing materials held in, or linked to, the repository is freely available under a CC0 licence
- Rights
- Copyright © Fatemeh Javidan, 2021
- Subject
- Computational-based courses; Online teaching; Peer assessment
- Reviewed
- Funder
- Federation University Australia
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