MarkT Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Since technology is playing an increased role in academics these days I was curious how homework is currently assigned/graded for Freshman and Sophomore level college science, math and engineering courses. Feel free to answer in a Poll fashion by just choosing a number from below or add to the discussion. Very informal: please answer if you are a student, instructor, or parent of a college student. 1) Students enter their homework answers on-line which is then scored - web-based homework (WBH) 2) Students do paper-and-pencil homework / problem sets a) Professor/Instructor/TA collects, grades and returns OR b) Professor/Instructor only reviews in class or hands out answer keys 3) Some combination of the above 4) something different - please describe This post was inspired by: <http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/567067-fyi-college-text-book-pricing/?p=6621427> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I teach CSC/IT and it varies. For the basic computer literacy course which is about 2/3 Microsoft Office, their homework is about 90% WBH and 10% instructor-graded based on online discussion. The WBH shows them what is wrong, and they can repeat it a certain number of times (varies). For my web multimedia class, all of the homework is submitted electronically as a Word file or is done on their website. I have to hand evaluate these against rubrics. My freshman has mostly WBH homework in math. The math teacher has them do their work on paper and then submit the answer online where it is graded. They can repeat it three times. They get a homework grade for each chapter they do with the online system. Before each test they submit all of their paper homework for a quick completion check that gives them another homework grade that she enters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 In all the physics courses in our department, students work paper and pencil problem sets. We have experimented with online homework systems and found them lacking. None of the systems can evaluate complex problems, procedure, diagrams - they just grade the final numerical answer. This is insufficient feedback, and it also encourages students to be sloppy in their procedure and work huddled over their laptops instead of interacting on the blackboard and working the problem with all steps. We can obviously not grade eight HW problems per week from 600 students per course. We evaluate by 1. calling students at random to the board in recitation; they have to work a homework problem due that day without their notes and receive a grade. Each student has to do boardwork 3-4 times a semester 2. collecting 6 assignments per semester, unannounced. This provides sufficient incentive for students to complete homework. They receive feedback by seeing the boardwork solutions discussed in recitation, by receiving written feedback on the collected assignments, and from interaction with faculty and peer assistants in the open Learning Centers which we run for 10 hours/week for each introductory course. All of DD's math and physics homework is fully worked out problems on paper as well. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in NY Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 My dds' math, physics, chem, and engineering classes all have p-sets due every week... Paper and pencil, each one evaluated by a TA. If there is any question or discrepancy at that point one can take it up with the professor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I work in higher Ed, have a HS student, my partner is a college student, and I finished my third degree about two years ago. I'll answer for all of us. ;) Programming scripts, including for applied math, essays, and presentations are uploaded. Weekly quizzes online for qualitative work sometimes, tests in class. Math homework is on paper and graded by hand. Proofs were graded line by line, by hand. Stats homework was turned in weekly, graded by hand. Code for plots and tables was printed out and graded by hand. One instructor required paper and pencil hand coding on exams, another did not. I would have loved to be in regentrude's class. That sounds fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 Problem sets are discussed in recitation and tutoring session, some are autoscored and contribute to the grade, some dont. Its a mix of online and pencil paper. My sons will often print the challenging problems and work on them with whiteboard or paper, then log back in and submit. They keep their solutions handy for recitation or tutoring. What is that? This is a new term for me. Is this something the student attends in "real-time" whether in-person at school or virtually in addition to lectures? Colleges I know have Lecture, Lab or combinations there-of such as "Flipped Classroom". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 In all the physics courses in our department, students work paper and pencil problem sets. We have experimented with online homework systems and found them lacking. None of the systems can evaluate complex problems, procedure, diagrams - they just grade the final numerical answer. This is insufficient feedback, and it also encourages students to be sloppy in their procedure and work huddled over their laptops instead of interacting on the blackboard and working the problem with all steps. We can obviously not grade eight HW problems per week from 600 students per course. We evaluate by 1. calling students at random to the board in recitation; they have to work a homework problem due that day without their notes and receive a grade. Each student has to do boardwork 3-4 times a semester 2. collecting 6 assignments per semester, unannounced. This provides sufficient incentive for students to complete homework. They receive feedback by seeing the boardwork solutions discussed in recitation, by receiving written feedback on the collected assignments, and from interaction with faculty and peer assistants in the open Learning Centers which we run for 10 hours/week for each introductory course. All of DD's math and physics homework is fully worked out problems on paper as well. Wow this sounds like your department works quite hard for the students! I hope they appreciate it. on another note have you heard of this - it looked interesting google "Andes Physics Tutoring System:Five Years of Evaluations" update - SW was last updated in 2008 so probably a non-starter for a college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 My kids attended a SMALL but highly ranked LAC (~1700 students total). Everything was done with pencil and paper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 What is that? This is a new term for me. Is this something the student attends in "real-time" whether in-person at school or virtually in addition to lectures? Colleges I know have Lecture, Lab or combinations there-of such as "Flipped Classroom". Recitations have been around forever. They are also sometimes called "Discussion sessions". Students meet in real time with a faculty member or TA and discuss problem sets, work examples, clarify points form the lectures. They are very common for introductory math or science course, in addition to lecture and lab. Higher level courses often do not have recitations, since the enrollment is small and there is the possibility for direct interaction with the lecturer during class. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 My son's math class is a discussion of theory and proofs. I know one day per week is discussion only. However, I think they also occasionally write up and submit proofs which a TA grades. Not sure. Classes are small so grading the homework would probably not be an overwhelming task. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Recitations have been around forever. They are also sometimes called "Discussion sessions". Students meet in real time with a faculty member or TA and discuss problem sets, work examples, clarify points form the lectures. They are very common for introductory math or science course, in addition to lecture and lab. Higher level courses often do not have recitations, since the enrollment is small and there is the possibility for direct interaction with the lecturer during class. Yes, my freshman physics and calculus classes had recitations. In physics you had class MW or TTh and the recitation was scheduled for Th or F after the lectures. In calculus, you had class five days a week. Four days were lectures and problems, and then the fifth day was what they called the recitation. There was always a clear agenda, and they answered questions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I texted my oldest to ask her. She's an upper division computer science engineering major. Her calc classes used MyMathLab (which she hated), and were the only classes she's taken with any automated grading. Other math classes, like discrete math, didn't have graded homework, just exams. Students were expected to do problem sets on their own, check their work and bring questions to discussion sections or office hours. In most of her CS classes, her work is submitted online, but graded by her TA or professor. In classes that involve circuits, (like computer architecture) labs are turned in on paper and graded by a TA. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 This has been what dss have encountered at two CCs. PreCalc - online problem sets using MathXL. Large problem sets and a big time investment but immediate feedback on answers. Students had to also show their work on paper and turn in fortnightly before quizzes or tests. It was checked for process and completeness. Quizzes were online via MathXL and students had two attempts. Tests were closed book in class. Trig. All on paper now online component. Homework collected. Different school and a population that is often low income. Less state level tuition assistance and aid here. School seems to be rather price sensitive. Bookstore site has links to buy used online at lower prices so it's easy to find a good deal or know the bookstore is a good price. I think the lower use of online supplements plays into this. PreCalc at school 2. No online component. Homework collected. Calculus at school 2. Online via MathXL. Assignments posted after each class. Will only help the grade. (IE if grade is between C and B but all the homework was done correctly it might be a B.) General Chemistry at school 2. No online component. Homework assigned but not collected. Weekly lab assignments collected. Quizzes and tests in class. This class has five optional EC assignments that together are worth half a quiz score. This is a written short essay on a chem topic. Classes at these schools have ranged in size. The first one started with 30 per section and finished with about 8. The second school tends to register a couple dozen and have 10 or fewer by the drop point. I think the trig class ended with 4 students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Also school 2 has an online grammar/writing module for Composition I. There was a pretest. Scoring well would reduce the number of lessons needed for completion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Mark, tutoring sessions are the new thing since my day. The college has hired students to be available to provide drop in small group peer tutoring sunday thru thursday evenings in the dorm. Some courses also have online tutoring available. In addition, as in my day, the student can go to office hours with the TA or Prof. or form his own study group. Tutoring is a really big deal now. For each of our introductory physics courses, we offer: 1. walk-in tutoring four days a week in different locations; two sessions per week are offered in the two main dorms. This is run by student tutors who receive training through the academic assistance program. 2. Learning centers twice a week for five hours, for problem solving and group work, mainly homework prep. This is staffed by faculty and peer learning assistants (students who took the course before and are trained in pedagogy) Colleges are trying to improve retention and graduation rates, and this is the best bang for the buck. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 With all 3 girls, each at a different school, math has all been 1. Online programs scored by a computer. Science (mostly all chemistry/biology hasn't had a math component) have been a combination of online and turned in to professor/ta or just discussed in class. Some classes have used ALEX for homework. Students don't find out about that additional fee until they are in the class already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Oldest uses MyMathLab for graded math assignments and likes it. Class time is lecture and group practice with problems on paper before doing those online assignments. Tests are all on paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I'm a parent to a college student. For her current courses - Calculus - option of doing web based homework that is auto graded and counts towards final grade OR doing paper based homework that is discussed and does not count towards final grade. This is the first time the instructor has used this online system (Launchpad?) and it has some serious kinks. Most of the students have abandoned it because it doesn't always accept valid answers. Computer Science - in class assignments are not graded, longer labs are turned in electronically and printed out and turned in and graded by instructor. Engineering Science (i.e., physics) - Web based homework that is auto graded. This system seems to work much better than the math one. In addition to having the graded problems, it also offers practice problems that can be repeated as many times as needed and can also provide hints to the solution as well as the full solution. The practice problems are not graded. The lab portion of this course requires lab reports on paper and graded by lab instructor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Ds is doing a CAD class online. Obviously, assignments are submitted online, not sure if they are automatically graded or not. Programming and math are on campus and both require pencil & paper assignments. Math tests are done on paper and hand graded. I'm not sure about programming. I'm taking a general studies Biology course. We have weekly assignments on Masterbiology, which are automatically graded. There are some in class written assignment, clicker questions, and tests are done on paper and then submitted by clicker in class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivey Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I only have one in college so far. His first-year courses in chemistry and physics were the only ones that had online assignments. All his math and other science courses had pencil and paper assignments that were graded, or at least checked for completion, by teaching assistants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 My daughter's college physics classes have all had only online assignments provided by the textbook publisher. They probably do it this way because it is less work for the teacher. For what it's worth, it changed her from loving physics to hating it. :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 I had no idea, so I asked ds. Math and Econ PSETs are pencil and paper, graded and returned. For Computer Science courses they have one-on-one interactive grading sessions with the section leader. Sections are smaller groups of students that meet once a week in addition to lectures. Students sign up for a "section" at the beginning of the quarter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Instructor. Tried using MyMathLab for the first time last semester. Had to shift gears mid-semester because of abysmal grades on the midterm even on students who had been doing well with the online homework. Came in and explained to the class that clearly this was not working and since I was concerned about their grades we were shifting to a mixed system. Trying it again this semester and it's going better. What I'm doing is assigning the single-step problems with numeric answers on MML as a primer, to be sure they're on the right track, and then hand-grading the more involved problems. The jury is still out since it's mid-semester, but these are the best hand-graded assignments I've gotten. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 My ds, math major at a private university, has always had all problem sets in math and physics written and graded on paper. In his intro classes, I think a TA graded some or all of the homework and there was weekly recitation for questions and help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Comp sci has required most of his code to be uploaded. But math has been entirely paper and pencil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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