Re: PROGRAMMING HOMEWORK HELP!
From: Nick Landsberg (hukolau_at_NOSPAM.att.net)
Date: 03/27/04
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Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2004 14:17:52 GMT
Michael Mendelsohn wrote:
> Darrell Grainger schrieb:
>
>>Homework is how a student proves to the school that they understand the
>>concepts they have been taught. If you do their homework for them, they
>>are proving that you understand the concepts that have been taught.
>
>
> This is true only if the homework is graded.
> Homework should be a set of exercises that teach the student how to
> apply the theoretical skills aquired through the lecture.
>
> Grading homework is a two-edged sword:
> While it increases student's motivation to do the practical work and
> makes his grade for the course easier to predict (and not depend so much
> on the performance in the few minutes of a single examination), it
> provides strong incentive for the student not completing his homework
> himself if he feels doing so would merit a weak grade.
>
> Thus the requirements of learning and examining are contradictory.
>
> It is especially hard to pace a programming course, as some students
> with previous programming background will find the exercises easy, while
> others find them hard. Cheating on the assignments can provide an
> opportunity to be ensured a passing grade (and thus avoid the necessity
> of halting one's other eduction for a year); a responsible student will
> then use this opportunity to learn programming at his/her own pace.
>
> Should one demand morality of students in the face of an unfair system?
> In earlier decades, one would have argued that this provided incentive
> to stand up and protest and change the system, but given today's
> climate, this idea seems impractical.
>
> Michael
Just to add my 2 cents American into this --
As a student (way back when Noah was a puppy), I didn't
like it when instructors would "grade" homework and make
it a part of your final grade. Students who had an
"answer" book for the given text would always get it right
while not learning anything. (And there were always
"answer books" around. If not officially, then in the
archives of a particular fraternity or something.)
When I became an instructor, I would dilligently review the
homework, make corrections, but never assign it a grade
nor consider the homweork as part of the final grade.
As was said above, the purpose of homework is to have
the student *practice*, on his/her own, the principles
discussed in class. Making a mistake on a homework
assignment is no sin, unless the instructor does not
point out the mistake (instructor to blame), or the
student does not learn from the mistake (student to
blame).
While there is some benefit in the lower grades to
forcing the student to do homework in order to get
them into the right habits, once you get into
college/university level, I feel that including
homework in the final grade is superfluous. They
should have enough discipline by then to know that
they have to do it in order to grasp the concepts.
If they don't, they should not be enrolled in any
courses.
-- "It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious" - A. Bloch
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