  Teamwork assessments often result in a single final product, for which all
team members receive a single mark regardless of their contribution to the team
project. In order to respond to feedback from students in terms of fair marking
of the teamwork assessment, we implemented peer assessment as a recommended
pedagogical intervention to individualise team marks and prevent team members
from taking advantage of free riding. Team marks were individualised
proportional to the average peer assessment mark each student received from
their peers in the team. We analysed course evaluation data before and after
the implementation of the peer assessment process from students participating
in Engineering Design courses. Analysing data in light of Social
Interdependence Theory showed that the peer assessment process improved the
cooperation of the team members which enhanced the students teamwork experience
and their engagement with the course.
