Assessment and feedback across various outcomes in project-courses: A department-wide study

Abstract

Project-based learning plays a central part in many study programs in technology and engineering and have demonstrated success both in motivating students and promoting effective learning both of technical engineering skills and more generic skills related to teamwork and collaboration. Yet, especially the assessment of the more generic skills has been pointed out as challenging in research literature. It is therefore interesting to know how teachers think about feedback and assessment in their project courses, and whether they view any challenges in balancing the assessment of various learning outcomes pursued by project courses. In this study, 12 teachers from the same university department were interviewed. The purpose was to investigate what learning outcomes are pursued in their project courses, what approaches are used for assessment and feedback, and how do assessment and feedback practices prioritize between different learning outcomes? Findings indicate that there is more weight on the technical, engineering-oriented outcomes than the interpersonal communication outcomes, although this varies among the courses. Some of the courses emphasize reflection about the team process and how the members’ communicative skills developed through the project, though there is no thorough assessment whether these skills improved during the project. This is in line with findings from international studies, indicating that interpersonal skills like collaboration are very hard to assess.

Assessment and feedback across various outcomes in project-courses: A department-wide study