Peer and teacher assessment of conference presentations by final year students

Abstract

Final year students enrolled in mechanical and manufacturing engineering undertake individual projects to meet the requirements of the 'Thesis' subject.These students are also enrolled in a concurrent subject 'Communications for Professional Engineers' which is designed to develop skills in the various media of communication. A major part of the assessment for this subject is based on conference presentations of each student's thesis project. An average of four staff carry out an assessment of the presentation, together with a similar number of peer assessors. This paper reports the mark outcomes of teacher and peer assessments, and outlines work currently being undertaken to improve the reliability and validity of the assessment procedures used in the subject.