The presented work springs from the hypothesis that the learning process can beaugmented by a course design that caters to peer learning in diversified groups. Thepresented work focuses on the assessment part of the course design as the type and designof assessments in a course greatly influence students' learning and can therefore be used tostimulate a desired behavior in students.
Two, timewise parallel, engineering courses on the same topic, given on campus and atdistance respectively, are studied. The current situation and potential changes areinvestigated with the ambition of being able to provide common learning activities to harvestthe potential interaction effects originating from peer learning in diversified groups,specifically aiming to mix life-long learners with “regular” students.
As a considerable part of the students within the anticipated diversified cohort are expectedto be gainfully employed (life-long learners), learning activities are preferred to begeographically and temporally unbound. In order to fulfill this design requirement anexamination process is proposed where the student initially independently chooses a topicto research and explore. The students then share their findings with fellow students via thelearning platform. An examination process based on peer review, asynchronously via forumson the learning platform, and self-assessment is proposed to motivate and support learning.The Universal Design for Learning guidelines are considered while proposing theseactivities aiming to provide good conditions for learning and potentially increase retention inthe diversified student group.