Assessment of work performed by paired students: a pedagogical experience

“Teamwork” is one of the abilities most valued by employers. In [16] we describe the process of adapting to the ECTS methodologies (for ongoing assessment), a course in computer programming for students in a technical degree (Marine Engineering, UPM) not specifically dedicated to computing. As a further step in this process we have emphasized cooperative learning. For this, the students were paired and the work of each pair was evaluated via surprise tests taken and graded jointly, and constituting a substantial part of the final grade. Here we document this experience, discussing methodological aspects, describing indicators for measuring the impact of these methodologies on the educational experience, and reporting on the students’ opinion of it.