2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Integrating Peer Review to Strengthen Team-Based Learning in Engineering Programs

Presented at Multidisciplinary Engineering Division (MULTI) Technical Session 8: Collaborative and Team Learning, and Assessment

Peer review in team-based learning aims to promote students’ assessment of their own and their peers’ contributions while building professional skills in developing and receiving feedback and in collaboration. In addition, peer reviews can help discourage social loafing, ensuring that the workload is fairly distributed among team members. This study examines students’ perceptions and preferences regarding the integration of peer review in team-based learning, particularly it’s impact on teamwork, fairness, and accountability. A literature review was conducted to present the state of the art in the use of peer reviews in engineering classrooms and to highlight both effective and less successful strategies. In addition, the paper describes strategies used by the authors in a Civil Engineering Program at a university in Canada as well as in an Engineering Technology Management Program at a university in the United States for engaging students in teamwork, including the integration of peer reviews and team contracts into the course curriculum. The paper also presents students’ reflections on the use of peer reviews and team contracts in group work. Findings from this work highlight the impact of students’ assessment of their own contribution and the contribution of their peers on collaboration, fairness, and the development of soft skills.

Authors

Dr. Rania Al-Hammoud University of Waterloo [biography]

Rania Al-Hammoud is an associate professor teaching stream and the current associate chair of undergraduate studies at the civil & environmental engineering department at university of waterloo. Dr. Al-Hammoud has a civil engineering background with research focusing on materials and the rehabilitation of reinforced concrete structures. She also has passion for engineering education and has published widely in this area. She cares about the success and well-being of her students, thus always being creative with the teaching methods in the classroom. Outside the classroom, she is an active person, with the following hobbies: hiking, biking and dancing.
Dr. Ona Egbue University of South Carolina Upstate [biography]

Ona Egbue is an Professor in the Department of Informatics and Engineering Systems at the University of South Carolina Upstate. She received her PhD from Missouri University of Science and Technology. Her research interests include socio-technical system analysis, critical infrastructure resilience, modeling of energy systems, decision making for complex systems, and engineering education.
Leon Shen University of Waterloo [biography]

Fourth year Civil Engineering student at the University of Waterloo. Leon has interest in engineering education research.

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