Background and justification of the project
In the previous years, the course Numerical Methods (6E5X0) has been enhanced with the following outcomes:
- 5 programming assignments based on real life situations
- Matlab crash course to introduce students into Matlab
- 6 modules covering the Matlab basics
- 4 modules covering the Matlab functionalities
For this project, the teacher wants to implement peer assessment as a tool to promote learning, some of the potential benefits of using peer-assessment are:
- Students will encounter alternative approaches used by their peers (or be able to suggest them), faster or more organized ways to structure the code and in general generate the abstract mind-set that is needed to understand someone else’s thought path.
- Students will be better able to interpret the assessment criteria because they are an active part of the evaluation process
- Students’ feedback is formulated in a much more familiar language compared to the formal instructions given by teachers
According to Wanner and Palmer (2018), “there is strong evidence in the literature that self and peer-assessment (also known in the literature as self and peer review) can enhance student learning and develop key capabilities in students, such as taking more responsibility for their own learning (moving from a passive to a more active learner); developing a better understanding of the subject matter, assessment criteria and their own values and judgements; and developing critical skills.”.
Alignment with strategy 2030: Support students to become independent/active learners, responsible for their own learning.
Objectives and expected outcomes of the project
The teachers will collaborate with the Teacher Support Officer and 2 teacher assistants (BSc or MSc students) to:
- Structure the peer-assessment process
- Define a step by step process with owners, deadlines and deliverables
- Define the rebuttal process and teacher intervention
- Define guidelines “How to give and receive feedback” to guide students during the peer-assessment process
- Define rubrics for the peer-assessment process
Project design and management
Results and learnings
This project is currently still ongoing