Abstract:
There is a reported competency gap between the teamwork skills required by
employers and those developed by engineering students during their undergraduate courses.
The University of Technology, Sydney is addressing this issue by combining project-based
learning with self and peer assessment to determine an individual’s team performance. A
confidential online tool is used to collect and collate the student self and peer assessment
ratings used both for formative feedback as well as assessment purposes. We found this
approach improved student teamwork, engagement and satisfaction, while requiring only a
small commitment of academic resources. We propose that using self and peer assessment
would also be beneficial in industry to change workplace cultures, promote teamwork,
individual skill development, engagement and productivity. Our implementation produces two
assessment factors. The performance factor may be used by managers to coach staff to improve
their performance, while the formative feedback factor will assist individuals to identify their
strengths and weaknesses as perceived by their peers, facilitating ongoing skill development.
