Forensic undergraduate cohort; job readiness curricula

A self- and peer-assessment strategy was implemented to support learning, teaching and assessment of undergraduate forensic science students’ capacity to work in a team. This strategy aimed to fill the gap observed in teamwork assessment, which historically focuses on the project outcome rather than an individual’s performance within a team. The online assessment tool, SPARKPLUS, was chosen as the platform to provide students with the teamwork skills criteria and levels of achievement they were required to self and peer assess against, during forensic investigation assessment team tasks. This work-integrated learning involved three components: (1) processing a mock crime scene; (2) laboratory analysis of the evidence collected; and (3) development and presentation of a police brief of evidence. A comparison of the distribution of the self- and peer-assessment ratings from students in second- and third-year cohorts shows that this approach improves assessment of teamwork.