Journal of Technology and Science Education ENHANCEMENT IN EVALUATING SMALL GROUP WORK IN COURSES WITH LARGE NUMBER OF STUDENTS. MACHINE THEORY AT INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING DEGREES Lluïsa Jordi Nebot, Rosa Pàmies-Vilà, Pau Català Calderon, Joan Puig-Ortiz Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Spain lluisa.jordi@upc.edu , rosa.pamies@upc.edu , pau.catala@upc.edu , joan.puig@upc.edu Received September 2012 Accepted December 2012 Abstract This article examines new tutoring evaluation methods to be adopted in the course, Machine Theory, in the Escola Tècnica Superior d’Enginyeria Industrial de Barcelona (ETSEIB, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya). These new methods have been developed in order to facilitate teaching staff work and include students in the evaluation process. Machine Theory is a required course with a large number of students. These students are divided into groups of three, and required to carry out a supervised work constituting 20% of their final mark. These new evaluation methods were proposed in response to the significant increase of students in spring semester of 2010-2011, and were pilot tested during fall semester of academic year 2011-2012, in the previous Industrial Engineering degree program. Pilot test results were highly satisfactory for students and teachers, alike, and met proposed educational objectives. For this reason, the new evaluation methodology was adopted in spring semester of 2011-2012, in the current bachelor’s degree program in Industrial Technology (Grau en Enginyeria en Tecnologies Industrials, GETI), where it has also achieved highly satisfactory results. Keywords – Supervised work, large groups, evaluation. ---------- 1 INTRODUCTION Machine Theory is a required course, originally taken during the fourth semester of the former Industrial Engineering degree program at ETSEIB. The course is taught twice a year (during the fall semester –FS– and spring semester –SS–), and has a 6 credit teaching load (5 ECTS). 4,5 credits are taught in a classroom with 60 students, and the remaining 1,5 credits taught in laboratory sessions with 15 to 20 students. Lab sessions include hands-on assignments, and a supervised, small group work, as specified in the Machine Theory Informational sheet (2010-2011 SS). The supervised work is carried out in groups of three or four students that have three tutored sessions of 1,5 hours, over the course of the semester. The supervised work must be written up in a 10-page report, and orally defended at the end of the semester before a jury of two professors from the program. The oral defence is a maximum of 30 minutes long. The work grade constitutes 20% of the students´ final grade in the course. If a student repeats the course, the work grade can be maintained for 2 consecutive semesters, if the student wishes. Successful completion of this work involves specific competencies in the subject, as well as generic competencies, such as team work, efficient oral and writing communication. Since academic year 2000-2001, Machine Theory has always included a supervised, small-group work developed as previously explained. This work has always achieved teaching staff objectives, and a fixed for teachers’ staff. The percentage of students receiving a passing mark over this 10 year period is 94,3% (Figure 1). Journal of Technology and Science Education. Vol 3(1), 2013, pp 11 On-line ISSN 2013-6374 – Print-ISSN 2014-5349 DL: B-2000-2012 – http://dx.doi.org/10.3926/jotse.55