  Peer assessment is a popular technique for a more fine-grained evaluation of
individual students in group projects. Its effect on the evaluation is well
studied. However, its effects on the learning abilities of students are often
overlooked. In this paper, we explore self-evaluation, motivation, and study
time of students in relation to peer assessment, as part of an ongoing project
at our local Faculty of Engineering Technology. The aggregated measurements of
two years so far show that: (1) students get much better at evaluating their
own project on some, but not all, of the evaluation criteria after a peer
assessment session, (2) students report in a follow-up survey that they are
more motivated to work on their project, and (3) the relation between
motivation and time spent on the project increases. These results suggest that
peer grading could have positive long-term effects on the reflective, and
therefore lifelong learning, skills of students. A better understanding of the
evaluation criteria results in more accurate self and peer grades, emphasizing
the importance of properly defining and communicating these criteria throughout
the semester.
