Hopscotch, basketball, or hide-and-seek? Children have many choices at recess, and while making these choices they must consider and make trade-offs. The way they make these decisions is not that different from the thought processes engineers use when making design trade-offs. Engineers have to make trade-offs because a design that meets all…

This article presents the findings of an action research study on developing learner autonomy through project work in an English for Specific Purposes class. The study was conducted at a Colombian regional and public university with environmental engineering undergraduates. The instruments for data collection were field notes, semi-structured…

One university's use of peer evaluation to develop fair and reliable distribution of grades for group projects is described, and its adaptation to the specific requirements of civil engineering is examined. Results suggest the evaluation model is transferable to this discipline. In particular, use of student journals for grade allocation was found…