Making Homework Easier to Do Than to Copy

1. 2011 AAPT Summer MeetingOmaha, Nebraska Making HomeworkEasier to Do Than to Copy Gerd Kortemeyer Michigan State University

2. Copying Homework Too Good? Do all work independently Continuum Good? Productive collaboration, give and take Grayarea Bad. Collaboration, mostly one-way Blind copying, no understanding Ugly!

3. Copying Homework • Why do students copy homework? • They don’t understand the material? • They don’t have enough time? • They don’t see the value of doing it? • They are not aware of the consequences? • It’s considered an acceptable form of “cheating”? • It’s so easy to do!

4. Why do students copy homework? • They don’t understand the material? • Homework may not address student difficulties • It should clearly be formative assessment • It should be helping the students learn, not test if they understood the material • That’s what exams are for • Oftentimes problems are way too difficult • We mostly should refrain from “cool” physics • We should refrain from homework that just shows off how smart we are • We should not assign homework that requires a “trick”

5. Why do students copy homework? • They don’t have enough time? • Our course is not their only course • Students make surprisingly sophisticated choices how to allocate their time budget • Don’t assign too much!

6. Why do students copy homework? • They don’t see the value of doing it? • Why should the students pay attention to something that you ignore? • Don’t just assign “Problems 3 through 16” • Discuss homework difficulties in lecture • Occasionally put variations of homework on exams

7. Why do students copy homework? • They are not aware of the consequences? • Homework is seen as a chore • rather than a way to succeed in the course • they will seek out the most “efficient” method of getting it done • Very hard to refute • students don’t believe us that it’s good for them • useful data by Bauer et al. and Pritchard et al., which can be shared with the students (later in this session)

8. Why do students copy homework? • It’s considered an acceptable form of “cheating”? • “Everybody does it” • Well, whom are they cheating? • They are cheating themselves • Usually, the vast majority of the grade is based on exams • Should we really care? • Go ahead and shoot yourself in the foot? • But:demoralization of the whole course can happen quickly • Good students who invest a lot of time should not feel betrayed

9. Why do students copy homework? • It’s so easy to do • Remainder of this talk: making it harder • “Making homework easier to do than to copy” • while fostering constructive collaboration • Key: the right types of randomizing problems

10. The right types of randomizing problems • Problem types: • Multiple choice • Numerical • Graphical • Symbolic • etc. • Randomization: • Different students get different versions of the same problem • The same student always gets the same version of the problem

11. The right types of randomizing problems Numerical Multiple choice

12. Randomization No Randomization Different order of options in multiple choice Different numbers in numerical problems Different options Spectrum: low to high energy Different images, graphs, formulas Different scenarios with similar physics Different scenarios with different physics Completely different problems

13. Randomization Do all work independently Too Good? No Randomization Different order of optionsin multiple choice Good? Different numbers innumerical problems Productive collaboration, give and take Grayarea Different options Bad? Different images, graphs,formulas Collaboration, mostly one-way Different scenarios withsimilar physics Different scenarios withdifferent physics Ugly! Blind copying,no understanding Completelydifferent problems

14. Randomization? • Next section: Show-and-Tell • Random examples of randomization in random order

15. Different Numbers Simple numerical response

16. Different Formulas Different formulas, same concept

17. Different Formulas Different formulas, infinitely many correct answers

18. Different Questions Higher/lowernormal/frictionalforce

19. Different Scenarios, Same Answer Choices

20. Different Scenarios, Same Answer Choices

21. Different Scenarios, Same Answer Choices

22. Different Questions Lifting/lowering,speeding up/slowing down, different numbers

23. Different Scenario Construction Carefully construct the problem Egyptian fraction: 1/n1+1/n2+1/n3+… Want limited number of small denominators

24. Different Graphs

25. Different Graphs

26. Different Graphs

27. Different Graphs

28. Different Graphs

29. Different Graphs Something big changed here

30. Different Graphs and Scenarios Same options, but different one is correct Need to change this, too

31. Different Scenarios, Graphical Input Different stories Graphical input Infinitely many correct answers

32. Different Line Graphics

33. Using Learner Answer

34. Using Learner Answer

35. “Hidden” Differences • Two ways howthe paper couldslide off the fridge: • Magnet slides offpaper • Paper and magnetslide off fridge • Depending onvalues, one or theother decides.

36. “Hidden” Differences Most course discussion ever!Panic.

37. Collaboration Too Good? Do all work independently Good? Productive collaboration, give and take Grayarea Bad. Collaboration, mostly one-way Blind copying, no understanding Ugly!

38. Online Discussions Discussions Encouraged, since all students have different versions.Peer-Instruction.

39. Online Discussions • Classifying homework discussion contributions • Green: desirable collaborationYellow: unproductiveRed: undesirable (“copying”)

40. Online Discussions • More successful students exhibit less “copying” during discussions

41. Online Discussions • More successful students exhibit less “copying” during discussions PostFCI=5.486+0.922•PreFCI+0.24 •%Physics PostFCI=7.606+0.857•PreFCI-0.042 •%Solution • Meaning what? • Students who contribute 100% solution-orienteddiscussions on the average achieve4.2 points (out of 30) less on the post-test,controlling for pre-test

42. Online Discussions • Reducing copying: don’t use simple problem types • Multiple Choice: • highest percentage of solution-oriented discussions (“that one is right”) • least number of physics discussions • Ranking and click-on-image problems: • Physics discussions highest • Problems with representation-translation (reading a graph, etc): • slightly less procedural discussions • more negative emotional discussion (complaints)

43. Online Discussions • Reducing copying: mid-range difficulty • Above mid-range: more pain, no (significant) gain

44. Helprooms StaffedwithLearningAssistantsin theevenings Collaborative learning space, peer instruction

45. Homework Do all work independently Too Good? No Randomization Different order of optionsin multiple choice Good? Different numbers innumerical problems Productive collaboration, give and take Grayarea Different options Bad. Different images, graphs,formulas Collaboration, mostly one-way Different scenarios withsimilar physics Different scenarios withdifferent physics Ugly! Blind copying,no understanding Completelydifferent problems

46. Exams Do all work independently Good! No Randomization Ugly! Different order of optionsin multiple choice Different numbers innumerical problems Productive collaboration, give and take Nograyarea Different options Remain fair Different images, graphs,formulas Collaboration, mostly one-way Different scenarios withsimilar physics Different scenarios withdifferent physics Blind copying,no understanding Completelydifferent problems

47. Exams Problems can also be rendered for bubble sheets Every student gets a different version

48. Exams

49. Exams

50. Exams