INCORPORATING AN ENGINEERING REVIEW PROCESS INTO STUDENT PROJECTS

Abstract

Practicing engineers review work products done by peers on a regular basis. While peer review of team members and peer review of classmate’s writing and presentation has been extensively researched in academic settings, the use of student technical peer review of engineering work products has not been similarly explored in engineering education. This paper presents the implementation of a technical peer-review cycle into course projects in a range of courses from junior through graduate levels. The review process asks students to evaluate and provide feedback on both the analytical content as well as the written communication of the project. It allows students to see different approaches to the same problem and their familiarity with the problem allows them to provide constructive feedback. The review cycle not only enhances the learning of the material for the course, but it is also a critical engineering skill for students. This paper presents a model for classroom practice, which is based on the peer review, tutoring, and teaching literature, to develop both knowledge and skills in students.