Implementing Peer-Review Activities for Engineering Writing Assignments

Stacie Ringleb, Orlando Ayala, Jennifer Kidd
2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings   unpublished
Ayala has had the opportunity to work for a number of engineering consulting companies, which have given him an important perspective and exposure to industry. He has been directly involved in at least 20 different engineering projects related to a wide range of industries from petroleum and natural gas industry to brewing and newspaper industries. Dr. Ayala has provided service to professional organizations such as ASME. Since 2008 he has been a member of the Committee of Spanish Translation
more » ... ASME Codes and the ASME Subcommittee on Piping and Pipelines in Spanish. Under both memberships the following Abstract Professional engineers spend a considerable portion of their day writing, yet disciplinary writing skills are not addressed in many engineering courses. This study investigates peer review as a mean to enhance student writing in engineering courses. Students completed formative peer reviews using an online peer review system for a group project in a fluid mechanics course (with online and face-to-face sections) and for an individual writing assignment in a senior capstone class in mechanical engineering. A university-wide rubric for disciplinary writing was used to assess student writing performance on interim and final assignments completed over the course of a semester. Online surveys were used to assess student perceptions of the peer review process. The study was implemented over two semesters with iterative revisions in instruction made between semesters based on initial findings. Results suggest that peer review can increase student performance, as long as reflections are used to prompt student revision, regardless of the class delivery method or assignment type.
doi:10.18260/1-2--28483 fatcat:y64xuouncfhlbk2gc6ksgqffp4