Perceptions and achievement of engineering undergraduates using peer review in group sessions to improve their report writing skills

Abstract

Engineers must communicate effectively through written reports, yet undergraduates often struggle to develop these skills. Successful teaching approaches typically involve iterative writing activities and associated feedback, but these can create heavy workloads for staff and depend on students’ ability to use feedback effectively. This project embedded writing skills development into a first-year laboratory skills unit by having students provide peer feedback on several formative partial reports. Implementing peer feedback can be challenging, particularly obtaining student acceptance of an unfamiliar learning technique. The project therefore explored student perceptions of peer feedback and investigated whether engagement with the process affected achievement. Results indicated that students recognised the benefits of peer feedback but lacked confidence when providing it. Higher engagement with formative feedback-related tasks improved pass rates. Embedding peer review within teaching can enhance students’ writing skills if supported by structured training, with improved performance providing extrinsic motivation to students to participate.