T.-S. Lim ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote:
: If homework scores don't matter in grade consideration, why should the students
: do them?
To learn.
: You can keep telling students that they need to do the homeworks to
: pass the exams but the fact is students won't care.
Most students do most homeworks.
: I find it silly to require
: students to do homeworks but then you don't account for the scores in
: determining the final grades.
Much of it is motivation.
My students know that examination questions will be similar to homeworks.
They're know if they don't bother
analyzing data sets for homework, they're going to have
difficulty analyzing the ones they're given for the takehome portion of
the exam. Homework figures into the final grade but indirectly
through the experience they've gained. I find this better than
by awarding a numerical score that fails to
reflect the additional learning that takes place during the in class
the occurs when the assignements are due.
: >One year, I tried letting the homework weigh into the grade (something
: >like 25-33%) because the previous year's class said there was so much
: >effort involved that it should be formally rewarded. The TAs spent more
: >time arguing over grades than they did grading homwork (I
: >exaggerate...slightly) and it was stressful for student, TAs, and
: >instructor alike.
: Perhaps your TAs are just too strict or don't know how to deal with students.
Not at all. I have three requirements of TAs: interest in the
subject, good performance as a student, and the ability to work
well with others. Of these, the third is the most important. In fact,
it's a lock-out spec (if you don't have it, you can't assist me). Students
perseverated over their numerical grades and kept arguing for partial
credit, etc. The more you teach, the more you'll
find one of the most important factors that influences learning is
morale. Concern over weekly homework grades got in the way.
Students were anxious about getting a perfect score every week and
morale suffered. It didn't matter that they finally learned the material;
what mattered was that they felt they couldn't make a mistake while they
were learning.
