The problem in a nutshell -
(1) practice with statistical applications outside of class, as with
homework exercises, is essential;
(2) we can't be sure who did work that was done outside of class;
(3) If we don't grade homework, many students won't do it, despite good
intentions.
There may be no perfect solution. My approach is to allow, and even
encourage, students to work together on homework in teams of two or three.
Include issues for discussion. Promise that exams will include some
questions based on homework problems and discussion issues. Grade homework
for feedback, but don't give it much weight.
Collaboration on homework can work very well. As we all know, teaching is a
great way to solidify one's own learning.
Despite the appeal of take-home exams, I no longer use them. I find them
difficult to write and grade, there is the possibility of collaboration at
some level, and some students put in tremendous amounts of time that
distorts their lives and goes way beyond what is possible for many other
students. That doesn't seem fair to me.
Holiday Greetings to all!
Dale Berger
Professor and Chair, Psychology
Claremont Graduate University
123 East Eighth Street
Claremont, CA 91711
FAX: 909-621-8905
Phone: 909-621-8084
Statistics web site: http://www.wise.cgu.edu
----- Original Message -----
From: dennis roberts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, December 26, 1999 5:47 PM
Subject: outside of class work
> At 10:29 PM 12/26/99 +0000, T.-S. Lim wrote:
>
> >I don't like take-home exams at all. It's very hard (almost impossible)
to
> >ensure that each student does the exam alone. It's true even for graduate
> >students (I'm speaking from my own personal experiences).
>
> whether it is an exam ... or some other kind of work (projects, papers,
> etc.) ... one really never knows IF it is his/her own work ... UNLESS one
> takes the time to probe and ask followup questions about it ... but nobody
> does ...
>
> however, you HAVE to give outside of class work (whether you figure it
into
> their grade or not) .... since there is no other time to be able to create
> ... organize ... think .... for an extended period of time ...
> ==============================================================
> dennis roberts, penn state university
> educational psychology, 8148632401
> http://roberts.ed.psu.edu/users/droberts/droberts.htm
>
