This study describes the response of two undergraduate engineering professors at different universities to a new criteria-based system of evaluation for their written lab reports. Both professors have worked with the same writing consultant in designing the criteria for evaluation in each assignment, and after only one semester, both have noted both negative and positive effects of using such a system. There were three primary goals in this research applied to criteria-based evaluation: · to reduce subjectivity associated with traditional holistic methods of assessment in engineering classes. · to decrease the amount of time the engineering professors actually spend in evaluation. · to assist in promoting student/professor interaction in discussing evaluation problems The pilot audience for this research consisted of two undergraduate civil engineering courses at different universities: a senior-level fluids course (n=52) and a sophomore-level computation course (n=38). Results were collected through triangulated measurement devices, and initial results indicate that at the semester mid-point, two of the three goals have been reached.
展开▼
