Should engineering students be assessed on teamwork as well as individual work?
In engineering, it may be desirable to assess teamwork alongside individual work. Collaboration can be important in design and development, but assessment should also show each student’s understanding and contribution. Clear criteria can cover role-sharing, participation in discussion, information sharing, and contributions to problem-solving. Combining these with individual assignments, reflection, and instructor review can support fairer assessment.
Key points
- Teamwork assessment can help measure communication and problem-solving skills needed for collaboration.
- Individual understanding and responsibility should be assessed, not only the group result.
- Criteria should be explained in advance, with self-, peer, and instructor assessment used where appropriate.
Things to check
- The presence and weighting of team projects, and the assessment method, vary by university, faculty, course, and academic year, so official information and syllabi should be checked.