Most physics education research and discussion on phys-l has
focused on what happens in the classroom, which is reasonable. But a
lot of learning takes place outside of the classroom as students
wrestle with their homework assignments. Recent experience has led
me to question the effectiveness of the canonical approach to
homework assignments. (That is: Assign problems from the text, grade
them, return them with a few comments to the students.) I think most
of us are aware of the weaknesses of standard textbook problems, but
I also wonder about the entire process. A different way of handling
homework is used by Thomas Moore's "Six Ideas that Shaped Physics"
course:
Do the folks on this list have interesting, non-canonical approaches
of dealing with homework that they believe are more effective in
getting students to learn concepts and develop problem solving skills?
Thanks!