this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2023
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Physics professor here. I am very disappointed in you.
Homework should be free points anyways. Most of the grade should be exams.
I have to disagree. If points are free, why even have the homework in the first place? To have students pay out the nose for some shitty online homework system? Grades should include homework and classwork constituting what is called Formative Assessment and exams forming what is called Summative or Cumulative Assessment. The idea being Formative Assessment giving you feedback as you are learning and Summative Assessment telling you if you have mastered the material at the end. This is the approach I employ with students earning on average 60 percent of the formative assessment points. Their work does not reflect mastery and the entire point of grading, whether it is used that way or not, is to indicate to students that there is room for improvement. After earning 60% of the points, students adjust so that by the time they get to exams, their work does reflect mastery. Any other way does not show the growth students are capable of. Now, I am not ignorant of the importance students place on grades and how much stress they put on themselves to get top marks (whether that stress is justified or not). So regardless of how I use grades internally in my courses to motivate growth, almost all of my students earn A's as their external grade. In the end, it's a win win system. Students maximally grow, and the risk/perception of failure is mitigated. You'll also notice I always use positive language. I.e. I do not take points off; students earn or I award points. Seems like a small thing, but framing something as a reward rather than a punishment makes a difference.
I don't fully agree with you assessment here.
Homework is assigned as an extension of the lesson, because teachers can't teach the entire lesson in an hour. If homework is graded, students will feel the need to cheat (or, "pay[ing] out the nose for some shitty online homework system", as you phrased it), because that's easier and less stressful than trying. However, if the student passed (for 100%) just for turning it in, the students who care will use that opportunity to learn the content, while the students who don't care, will use the opportunity to turn in some half-assed assignment. But, the thing is, those same students who cheat themselves will also fail the exams, because they didn't learn, while the students who tried on the extended lessons (homework assignments) will do much better on the exams, since they did learn. See, homework was never intended to be a graded thing, but teachers started grading it, due to their failure (in their eyes) to motivate the students to complete the assignment otherwise.
The reality, though, is that those students who want to do well, will do well, regardless of the grading system of the homework assignments. However, those same students will be under a lot less stress if they can use the homework assignments as learning aids, as opposed to the equivalent of graded take-home quizzes.
As a sidenote, it was funny to see you start your comment with "I have to disagree" and end it with "You’ll also notice I always use positive language", since they are contradictory statements haha
E: notice I refer to not receiving a "grade" and don't use the term "feedback". Feedback should always be given on these homework assignments, as they help facilitate learning.
I apologize for not being clear. I mean ositive reinforcement vs negative punishment. I.e. students earn points for good work rather than take away points for bad work. It makes a pretty big difference on a psychological level
Oh, yeah, no, I understood what you meant with the positive/negative statements. I just thought it was funny haha
Former student here. I am very disappointed in the system for which you're supporting. While I enjoyed most homework assignments, I especially enjoyed the P/F assignments (you either pass for turning it in, or fail for not turning it in). The P/F assignment were still graded for accuracy, though, so I was able to learn from them, too, but without the stress about negatively affecting my grade if I didn't understand something. This is what I mean when I say 'free point' homework assignments, but I can only vouch for myself. During schooling, I used homework sites like Chegg (but not Chegg, because they suck) to check my answers, never as cheating. You saying that you're disappointed in OP without truly understanding how they use these sites, is extremely disappointing coming from a (college?) professor. I expect better from both sides of the fence.
Being disappointed was a joke. Why would I be disappointed in someone I don't know? Per the pass fail system you describe, that is essentially what I do. Classework is graded with daily written feedback on a 0-10 point scale with 5 points coming from attempting the assignment. I aim for a 7 because a binary scale does not represent the quality of the students' work. In the end, it reduces yo the same binary scale regardless, but the important thing is that they receive the level of feedback they deserve. My grading policy does not effect their grades. Most of my students earn A's.
Oh and I know fully well how these sites work. I have to contact them frequently for violation of copyright.
If that truly was a joke, it was in poor taste and very unclear.
Your method of 0-10 is not "essentially" the same as a pass/fail system, as it's not a pass/fail grading. By definition it's a graded system. Homework assignments (not projects, mind you) shouldn't be quality-graded, because their use is supposed to be as learning aids and not as student quality measurements. Please don't misunderstand, I appreciate the effort you're putting through for your students. However, claiming that most of them make As, to me, is irrelevant. What I truly cared about in school was whether I learned. The grade was secondary (though it usually followed), which is why the pass/fail homework assignments were so helpful--they allowed me to learn without the worry of a grade. Granted, we did have more quizzes in those classes, but if you did the homework with the goal of learning, you were ready for the quizzes.
Say there are 10 assignments graded 0-10 with 5 points for the attempt and the potential for an additional 5 points. Now, the minimum points required for an A is 50. This means you simply nerd to do the assignment. The "grading" is giving numerical feedback on the quality of work relative to the expectation of where students should be.
I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just saying I don't care about grades, and care more about the learning. The P/F (0/100) scale has absolutely no worry on a grade. Just do it, and get 100. This can (and will), obviously, be abused by some students. But those who care, won't abuse. Again, I'm not saying you're wrong.
I am writing exams. I am not in a university. i.e., this is not graded.
This is not HW help tbh! I just want to understand it and understand how to solve it. I don't have enough time to ponder over each question
I do have a suggestion. Look at what answers you can. Then, revisit the material in a month. If you can reproduce it cold, then your approach is a good one. If not, I suggest you approach it the way everyone preceding you has ever understood it: ponder.
If you take me up on helping, I don't want to waste your time. I'm not going to solve your homework. I'm going to engage in Socratic dialog, asking you questions until you figure it out on your own.
Lastly, given that I'm old and that I have had more than one student, I don't believe you. ;)
Textbook companies along with Chegg (which is owned by a textbook company IIRC), and organizations like College Board and World News and Report form what you might call the Educational Industrial Complex. Just like Big Pharma or Big Tech, their goal is power through exploitation. You might check out OpenStax for a text (it's free) and r/physics (as much as I'd prefer not sending people to reddit). Or DM me. I'd be glad to help. It's literally my job.