Developmental Changes of the Responses to Peer Assessment of Group Projects: a Case Study of Civil Engineering Undergraduates

Abstract

The changes in the responding behaviour to peer assessments of group projects as students progress through their studies were explored to assist educators in designing peer assessment tools to suit students’ maturity levels and better understand the students’ responses to peer assessments. We collected and analysed the responses to a peer assessment tool after group project assignments of a group of civil engineering undergraduate students in their second and third years. The responses displayed a relatively higher satisfaction level by the students on their peers’ contribution to the group projects in both units, with a markedly higher satisfaction level in the third year of study than in the second year. The data also suggests that smaller groups tend to have higher peer satisfaction levels among group members than in bigger groups. Average peer rating versus group mark comparison was identified as a reliable indicator to identify groups that had internal issues while working on group projects but were not openly disclosed. Responses to individual criteria of the peer assessment tool confirmed that the group members are highly satisfied with each other’s attendance in group meetings and are increasingly satisfied with each other’s intellectual contribution towards the group project as the year level progresses. Given the participants in this study belong to one specific discipline, the results may not be generalisable to the entire student population, and we encourage more research in this area.