Ultimate group project? 50% of grade based on class average

[Pegasus]

DD16 recently finished her first two dual enrollment courses.  One of her instructors assigned a project to the class as a whole as the last project of the semester.  A student's grade was based 50% on their individual contributions to the project. The other 50% was based on the class average.  DD was not amused. What is the purpose of these sorts of assignments?!?  I guess if your purpose is to pull the grade distribution towards the mean, objective accomplished!

 

 

[EKS]

That would infuriate me if I were a student in that class.

 

I'm my grad school classes, I've been known to completely redo group submissions that are not up to my standards. But what you're describing doesn't even have that as an option.

[katilac]

Wow, was that on the syllabus? Both of my dds would run screaming from that class if possible.

[regentrude]

Grade based on the class average? Was that explained up front in the syllabus? That makes no sense.

I doubt this kind of assessment is in line with the institution's guidelines and would inquire with the department.

[Pegasus]

This particular instructor was a mess organizationally all semester.  She did not provide a syllabus covering the entire course (HUGE red flag, I know) but instead just passed out assignment/project sheets as she assigned them.

 

DD wrote a very detailed course/instructor review at the end of the semester. The saddest aspect is that she was teaching the course on how to be a success in college (study skills, etc.) 

[regentrude]

This particular instructor was a mess organizationally all semester.  She did not provide a syllabus covering the entire course (HUGE red flag, I know) but instead just passed out assignment/project sheets as she assigned them.

 

DD wrote a very detailed course/instructor review at the end of the semester. The saddest aspect is that she was teaching the course on how to be a success in college (study skills, etc.) 

 

She needs to send her comments and evaluation directly to the department chair. Depending on the setup, the chair may not be able to see the comments in the evaluation system, only the numerical ratings.

 

Not having a syllabus at the beginning of the semester most likely violates policies of the institution. The department needs to be made aware of that. (This said, having a complete syllabus does not mean that all assignments must be published at the beginning of the semester; passing those out during the semester is perfectly fine.)

Edited December 18, 2016 by regentrude

[Bootsie]

Was this grade on one project within the course or was 50% of the student's final grade based upon the class's grade?  

[Nan in Mass]

Maybe she was trying to teach the students to work together in study groups?

 

My son has had a number of group projects in which he received two grades, one for the project and one for his individual contribution. For a course that was one big project, this works out to 50/50 with his group. He knew from the first day that it worked like that, though.

 

Nan

[regentrude]

Maybe she was trying to teach the students to work together in study groups?

 

My son has had a number of group projects in which he received two grades, one for the project and one for his individual contribution. For a course that was one big project, this works out to 50/50 with his group. He knew from the first day that it worked like that, though.

 

But OP said class average, not group average. That part makes no sense.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Wow, that stinks. 

 

 

[Ann.without.an.e]

Wait, what in the world?  No words.

[Nan in Mass]

But OP said class average, not group average. That part makes no sense.

I know. I can't make sense of it unless it were a tiny class and the goal of the class were to teach them how to be a good study group, in which case, they would be told so up front. Our community college has groups like this that function as support groups for nontraditional students. I doubt they grade like that, though.

 

Nan

Edited December 19, 2016 by Nan in Mass

But OP said class average, not group average. That part makes no sense.

 

My reading of the post was there was effectively one large group consisting of everyone in the class.

[Pegasus]

She needs to send her comments and evaluation directly to the department chair. Depending on the setup, the chair may not be able to see the comments in the evaluation system, only the numerical ratings.

 

Not having a syllabus at the beginning of the semester most likely violates policies of the institution. The department needs to be made aware of that. (This said, having a complete syllabus does not mean that all assignments must be published at the beginning of the semester; passing those out during the semester is perfectly fine.)

 

I will pass this recommendation along to DD.  I assumed the department would get to see the full evaluation including comments. DD ended up satisfied with her final grade but she should do what she can to help future students.  This instructor, at the very least, needs some coaching.

 

Was this grade on one project within the course or was 50% of the student's final grade based upon the class's grade?  

The grade on the one project within the course.  Not 50% of the student's final grade.

 

But OP said class average, not group average. That part makes no sense.

I agree that it makes no sense. 

 

My reading of the post was there was effectively one large group consisting of everyone in the class.

 

Yep, your interpretation is correct. The entire class was the group for the project.

[katilac]

 

Yep, your interpretation is correct. The entire class was the group for the project.

 

If the entire class worked as a group on the project, then her grading makes a lot more sense.

 

What with it being a 'how to succeed in college' course, I wouldn't be too worried about her grade. Did she get it yet?