Modalities of Peer Assessments in Team Project Based Design Courses

摘要

Peer assessments can be used in team project based design courses to identify problematic individuals and team dynamic issues early on so that they can be addressed and hopefully resolved before it is too late, as well as provide a basis for calculating individual grades for team project work. Although peer assessments can take on many forms, their goal is to measure individual performance within a team as rated by their peers. In this study, ITP Metrics is used to provide individual scores based on five team performance dimensions. Two different courses using different peer assessment modalities are considered. In the first case, peer assessments are conducted at the mid-point and end of the course, whereas in the second case, peer assessments are conducted after each deliverable. Results show that two peer assessments over the term are not enough to provide sufficient scaffolding to problematic individuals or teams. However, peer assessments conducted in Tuckman's forming or norming stages provide very little additional information. Multiple peer assessments conducted during the storming stage before the mid-point of the term, along with appropriate scaffolding, is shown to be most efficient in improving individual and team performance. In fact, teams that do not receive additional scaffolding are found to have deteriorating team dynamics overall as the term progresses through the second half of the term. Special cases are also considered. Moreover, the correlation between peer assessment results and team grades is shown to increase over the term, demonstrating the importance of understanding peer assessment results throughout the term. Future considerations are required to ensure peer evaluations are best used in modifying individual grades.