Introducing Computer-Aided Peer Assessment (CAPA) in Engineering Conclusions
المؤلف:
Neil James & Mike Miles & Cheryl Burton & Chris Ricketts
المصدر:
Enhancing Teaching and Learning through Assessment
الجزء والصفحة:
P182-C16
2025-07-02
419
Introducing Computer-Aided Peer Assessment (CAPA) in Engineering Conclusions
This CAPA trial used computer systems and software within the University MLE, but interfaced them and performed most critical tasks through manual intervention. There are several IT-based conclusions that can be drawn from this experience:
• At present, CAPA is very labor intensive for academic and IT staff
• Making essays anonymous is not simple, because of digital media attributes like document properties and headers and footers
• Some students do not read instructions, even when these are very clear and explicit
The route forwards in wider implementation of CAPA therefore rests on motivating an appropriate e-learning strategy at the corporate level within the University. The incentives to achieve this are high, as CAPA demonstrably provides:
• A high impact on the student learning experience
• A high level of IT skills transfer
• A high degree of knowledge 'ownership' by students
• Better understanding of the purpose of assessment
• Inculcation of critical reflection on self-performance in assignment objectives
The authors believe also that the high initial time and cost investment in developing CAPA systems that are fully interfaced with the MLE will be recouped through:
• Use of common systems across a number of modules
➣ Bespoke solutions with only minor system variations
• Improvement in student retention in a stage
• Improvement in stage progression of students
These outcomes would have a high teaching and learning impact, particularly in engineering disciplines, which often struggle to recruit undergraduates, and then fail significant numbers within the first six months of the degree program. There is also likely to be greater student acceptance of peer assessment on first year assignments as these marks do not directly impact on degree classification. Race (2001) gives 7 reasons why involving students in their own assessment has educational value. The two main reasons we adopted this approach was to deepen student learning and to provide more feedback to the students. Black and Wiliam (1998) have shown that effective formative feedback such as that provided here can improve student performance, and this study is one of the largest educational intervention effects ever reported in terms of number of students affected.
CAPA in the Faculty of Technology at the University of Plymouth forms one strand of a multi-faceted approach to revising the first-year curriculum in certain degree programs and its mode of presentation to students. The intention is to emphasize the excitement of the degree program in a holistic way, via group project work that is linked across modules and assessed in ways that will better align curriculum, teaching and learning, and assessment.
The aim is to produce enthusiastic, motivated students who are empowered to believe in their own ability to succeed; rather than being swamped in detail and anticipating failure.
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