Issue 1:  Tell them early
Announce rules and format on the first day
Many instructors hand out copies of the forms used for assessment and evaluation with (or as a part of) the syllabus.

Issue 2:  Give them practice
Do assessment before (it counts) evaluation
Students usually have no experience with assessing or evaluating the work of peers (or often even their own work). Provide opportunities for them to assess other team members in situations in which their assessments do not affect project grades.

Issue 3:  Include feedback
Allow improvement
Most students (given honest feedback from peers) will improve performance and are more willing to give honest feedback to peers as they gain experience with assessment.

Back to previous page

References for further information

1. Kaufman, D.B., Felder, R.M., and Fuller, H. (2000), "Accounting for Individual Effort in Cooperative Learning Teams," J. Engineering Education, 89(2), 133–140.
   
2. Van Duzer, E., and McMartin, F. (1999), "Building Better Teamwork Assessments:  A Process for Improving the Validity and Sensitivity of Self/Peer Ratings," Proceedings, ASEE Conference.
3. Brown, R.W. (1995), "Autorating:  Getting Individual Marks from Team Marks and Enhancing Teamwork," Proceedings, FIE Conference.

http://www.eas.asu.edu/~asufc/teaminginfo/teams.html
http://www.uoregon.edu/~bartj/pae/peer-eval.html
http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~legatski/4213Peer.htm
http://iluvatar.lcps.k12.nm.us/manual/eval/peer.html