Incorporating peer review of course term project in structural analysis course

Students frequently find their junior year challenging as those courses provide the transition between lower-level courses where fundamentals are emphasized and upper-level design courses where instructors assume prior knowledge. Project-based learning provides a great instrument for students to enhance their learning and further develop critical engineering skills. However, students still struggle when not given exact procedural steps and want the reassurance they are `doing the correct thing.´ This paper presents the implementation of a peer-review cycle into the team course project of a structural analysis course. The peer review process asks students to evaluate and provide feedback on both the analytical content as well as the written presentation of the project. This process allows students to see different approaches, both in analysis and in presentation, to the same problem. Their familiarity with the problem allows them to provide constructive feedback, while reviewing the work of another group allows them an objectivity they cannot yet apply to their own work. The peer review cycle not only enhances the learning of the material for the course, but it is also a critical engineering skill for students.