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Leveraging Incentives, Disincentives, and Peer Feedback to Enhance Student Performance

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Military and Veterans Division (MVD) Technical Session 1

Tagged Division

Military and Veterans Division (MVD)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

8

DOI

10.18260/1-2--43463

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/43463

Download Count

125

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Paper Authors

biography

Kyle Patrick Ditonto United States Military Academy

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The authors of this paper are: Major Sam Yoo, Major Brandon Lawrence, and Major Kyle Ditonto.

We are all active duty Army Officers serving as junior rotating faculty members within the Department of Systems Engineering at the United States Military Academy. All of us graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2011 and have served on active duty since graduation.

MAJ Sam Yoo holds a Master of Science in Engineering and Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MAJ Brandon Lawrence holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University. MAJ Kyle Ditonto holds a Master of Science in Management Science and Engineering from Columbia University.

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Brandon Lawrence

biography

Sam Yoo United States Military Academy

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MAJ Sam Yoo is an Aviation Officer (UH-60) and Instructor in the Department of Systems Engineering. He holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Engineering Management from the United States Military Academy, a Master's of Science in Engineering Management from Missouri S&T, and a Master's of Science in Engineering and Management from MIT. MAJ Yoo is a Project Management Professional and Certified Six Sigma Black Belt. His research interests include systems safety, human systems engineering, and operations management.

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Abstract

The topic of our research explores the strengths and weaknesses of various forms of student incentives in performance, as well as the impact of peer feedback. New faculty members often struggle to determine the best way to motivate their students to succeed in the classroom. This work specifically considers the various advantages and disadvantages that incentives and disincentives present for student performance. The authors then consider the influence of peer feedback as an additional area of focus to drive positive change in student learning. After reviewing the best practices from different organizations, specific methods are recommended to faculty at the United States Military Academy (USMA). USMA faculty is comprised of a unique blend of active-duty Army officers and civilian instructors. While there are a select number of permanent faculty, the majority are rotational instructors who serve 2-3 years after obtaining a graduate level degree. The cadets at USMA also have unique academic requirements that incorporate physical, military, character, and leader development. These recommendations are meant to guide new faculty at USMA as they navigate the complex requirements of cadet education and the best techniques to elevate student learning. The study examines the impact of ranked-scale grading on student performance and finds that it ultimately improves results for high-performing students while not affecting those with moderate or low performance. Another key insight includes the ability to significantly enhance student performance by applying regular peer feedback in group work. Lastly, incentive-based programs such as extra credit can positively increase student performance if structured correctly by the professor.

Ditonto, K. P., & Lawrence, B., & Yoo, S. (2023, June), Leveraging Incentives, Disincentives, and Peer Feedback to Enhance Student Performance Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43463

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2023 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015