Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: [Phys-L] Thermal Physics solution manual



What are others doing to incentivize learning in the age of Chegg?

Great question, David, and I look forward to seeing answers from others.

I'm curious what goes on in college physics classes. Why do teachers grade
homework? Kids will do almost anything to find the solutions (online or
elsewhere), but that does not mean they understand the process.
Ultimately, kids have to perform well on tests.


Also a great question, Anthony. My answer is that tests (assuming they're not take-home) are given in an artificial environment that doesn't really mimic the environment in which I *want* my students to be able to perform well. Some students find the testing environment extremely stressful, and I don't want to penalize them too much for that. Other students are good at taking tests, and at cramming for them the night before, but won't necessarily remember anything a week later. (I was sometimes that way in college; my Linear Algebra class comes to mind.) I don't want to reward students too much for that kind of behavior. Finally, there are some particular problems/tasks that just can't be done in a testing environment, either because they're too lengthy, or because they require some amount of interaction and collaboration, or because they require tools (typically software, for the courses I teach) that aren't available in the testing location. And these problems/tasks are often among the most interesting!

Basing grades on a mix of tests, homework, and larger-scale projects is the best solution I've been able to come up with. But I'll bet others have better solutions.

Dan