Student Peer Evaluated Line Balancing Competition

The Student Peer Evaluated Line Balancing Competition is a 30‐minute in‐class problem‐based learning experiential exercise that challenges student groups to design a feasible and efficient laptop computer assembly line. Each student group’s proposed design is publicly peer‐reviewed by the rest of the class, enabling students to evaluate various alternatives and realize the key requirements for optimally balancing an assembly line. Evidence of effectiveness is provided, including student survey results and a statistical analysis of exam question performance both before and after the exercise was incorporated into our business undergraduate operations management class. The survey revealed that 96% of students recommended continued usage and 92% believed the competition helped them to be able to determine a feasible solution for line balancing problems. Exam question performance analysis revealed that our initial instructions for the competition actually resulted in lower performance compared to traditional lecture. We subsequently improved the instructions and found that this change has resulted in similar exam question performance as traditional lecture. The result is an exercise that significantly improves student engagement while maintaining student performance previously achieved through traditional lecture.