Strategies and Implications of Peer Assessment in Software Engineering Education

This Innovative Practice category full paper describes the strategy of peer evaluation approach. Effective team management is pivotal in the success of any collaborative project, particularly in the domain of learning Software Engineering or Professional Software Development courses. Peer evaluations are commonly used methods to motivate group-based learning. This paper addresses the significance of team management and peer evaluations in the context of two Computing Science (CS) courses offered: Professional Software Development (PSD) and Team Project (TP). The main contributions of this paper are to provide nuanced insights into the challenges and opportunities inherent in collaborative endeavors, emphasizing effective motivation, encouragement, and resolution strategies for tackling teamwork issues within group projects. This study scrutinizes the intricate dimensions of teamwork in Software Engineering education. A central aspect of the paper involves a comprehensive analysis of peer evaluation methodologies, intending to shed light on practical implications for educators and learners. The findings underscore the importance of leveraging these insights to cultivate a conducive learning environment, motivating students to actively participate in collaborative endeavors. The proposed peer evaluations approaches are presented as a combination of the existing quantitative assessment approach and newly qualitative feedback mechanisms. It incorporates these elements: weekly peer review, emotion rating & thoughts, release of feedback, and a centralized dashboard. In the study, 31 CS Sophomore students taking the CSC2101 - PSD and TP1 course participate to evaluation experiments, where positive results are obtained. The collective findings and evaluations contribute to the ongoing refinement of collaborative learning experiences within the dynamic landscape of Software Engineering education.