Peer and self-assessment in portuguese engineering education

Abstract

This chapter describes the implementation of peer and self-assessment in two first-year engineering courses at the University of Minho in the northof Portugal. The results of a case study that was aimed at improving student learning by changing the assessment of learning, aim to illustrate the use of assessment as a powerful instrument to influence learning. The first section pays attention to learning and the influences of peer and self assessment, with special attention to assessment within engineering courses. The second section focuses on the case study previously mentioned and illustrates how students assumed responsibility in their own assessment process. Advantages and disadvantages of peer and self-assessment are discussed. The opportunities for e-learning in this case study are discussed in the penultimate section, whereas the last section highlights some of the lessons learned from the case study.