Draft: Group Assessment with Case Studies

Overview of the Course

What is the subject context of the course?

This annual course investigates the potential of integrated design as a strategy for sustainable architecture. Beginning with human needs and the specific potentials of the local environment, it examines how buildings can be passively and actively supplied with heat, cooling, air, and electricity.

The course aims to build a deep understanding of the interplay between architectural design and energy supply systems. Students learn to develop design solutions that minimize the environmental impact of buildings and to actively contribute to addressing the climate crisis.

What should students learn and be able to do at the end of the course?

At the end of this one-year course, students will be able to estimate the impact of energy and climate on a building. They will be able to independently apply the steps of an integrated design process to their own project and master selected tools from the Integrated Design Atlas platform (IDA). Future own designs can be supplemented and enriched with potentials from energy and climate analyses.

Why was the specific assessment format chosen?

The group assessment format was chosen because it can easily be integrated into the new flipped classroom concept. Specifically, the goal is to emphasize feedback, participation, and peer learning. Additionally, students should have the opportunity to manage their workload flexibly throughout their studies.

Feedback sessions on the project are held approximately every three weeks and are led by student teaching assistants who are former dedicated students of the course. A community has formed around this group assessment format, and it is very committed.

Although the organizational effort is considerable, the advantages to the students’ learning process outweigh it.

How are students prepared for the assessment?

Students do not require any special preparation for the group assessment. Students are in their third year of study when they attend the course and are accustomed to group work (e.g. design studios).

At the beginning, the group assessment is briefly introduced to discuss the rather high workload involved in this format, as well as to highlight its benefits for students’ learning processes.

Support and clear guidelines are also provided for forming groups.

Shared Experience

How many times has the assessment been conducted in this format?

The group assessment was carried out four times until 2025.

What contributed to the success?

Working with the teaching assistants for the feedback sessions. The student teaching assistants themselves learn a lot from interacting with the students.

The product of the group assessment is a poster. These posters get better and better over the course of the semester.

What were the challenges and how were they overcome?

On the one hand, it’s challenging to overcome group effects, such as free-riding and problems with harmonious cooperation. To counteract this, students are given the opportunity to register in advance for feedback sessions, where they will receive individual feedback. For this, a specific role is assigned to each student and they are awarded an individual grade according to their performance in this role. While this is helpful, it involves additional effort.

On the other hand, it is challenging to reconcile the feedback and assessments of the various student teaching assistants. Since groups can choose their own student teaching assistants, significant differences in feedback and assessments influence group allocation. This requires a great deal of coordination and organization. Moodle helps to reduce this effort.

Are there any further developments planned?

• The student teaching assistants who were involved in the feedback sessions will take on this task again.
• The poster submission was introduced in 2025 and took place at the end of the semester. In the future, the development and design of the poster will be supported throughout the semester.
• The feedback and evaluation sessions should be separated in the future. As this course will expire in two years, such a change will no longer be implemented.

What tips would you give lecturers who are planning a similar assessment?

• Structure the group assessment well (in advance).
• Engage in an exchange of experiences with other lecturers.
• Always make sure that it is enjoyable.