a online homework assignments

a online homework assignments

Enhancing Student Learning Through Online Homework Assignments

1. Introduction to Online Homework Assignments

Over the last fifteen years, a great amount of effort has been expended in improving science education. An important component of this effort has been the establishment of, and research on, effective teaching strategies. A trend that has been growing over the last few years has been the use of online homework assignments. Homework assignments have indeed been used to some extent in science classes over the years, and the practice of grading multiple-choice homework on a preprinted answer sheet has easily been automated; as a result, grading has not necessarily been the major barrier to giving and grading homework. However, with the addition of computer interfaces and networks available in many universities, the practice of assigning and grading more complex online homework questions has become possible.

Online homework assignments have many potential uses. For instance, they can be combined with practice test banks to give students a vast reservoir of questions on various topics. It is simple to post a list of the most frequently missed questions, giving students extra practice on areas that are difficult. If we allow students to retake homework problems for partial credit, then online assignments can provide practice without adding very much to a grader’s workload, while giving students immediate feedback beside the increased practice. Another use might be that students can be given very difficult questions, the kind of which they would not be given on a traditional face-to-face exam released-pretest, with a free retake. This combination could make them spend more time preparing for the exam. It could be possible to release essay prompt pretest questions after the students have submitted their work to the regular exam, bringing the process closer to the actual practice of science testing hypotheses against real data.

2. Benefits of Using Online Homework Assignments

Online homework systems, such as WebAssign, Sapling, and MasteringEngineering, add interactivity and assessment to homework assignments. Regardless of the particular course, homework due each week is traditionally the most important assignment. It provides students with the opportunity to review material before the exam, thus helping the student to learn the material better.

Student learning improves when students are given immediate feedback on their performance. Since most online systems implement due date controls, students are incentivized to work on the problems continuously, thus avoiding the stress of prolonged periods of work before the exam. Previous studies led students to the conclusion that the vast majority of students found the online system useful and would recommend its use to others. That is, homework systems increase motivation to complete problems.

One respondent in a survey suggests, “Do not throw the student into a problem for which he/she has not seen a similar example.” When students cannot solve the problem after several tries, they may become frustrated and quit or otherwise take actions that may be harmful. It is important to students that they are able to see step-by-step solutions to homework problems. Other students discover their errors only after learning of a course grade, receiving their returned test, or during office-hour consultation.

Online homework systems check their solutions with no conflicts. They develop an understanding of the confidence level that a student can have that their answers are correct because the homework system will always flag it if it is. When a good number of problems are assigned from the book, good students will eventually turn to those problems. However, the educational goal is to line them toward success in doing and understanding the answers to substantial problems. Even with incentives that increase their motivation, problems cannot drive the solution to that goal alone, but only help by gradually lining students towards their capabilities.

3. Best Practices for Designing and Implementing Online Homework Assignments

As the examples of courses using online homework provided in the previous chapter illustrate, aspects of course format and pedagogy can significantly impact the success of online homework in terms of students’ development. In this chapter, we set forth some best practices for designing and implementing online homework. These are adapted from a variety of sources, cited at the end of the chapter, and from personal practice.

One important lesson is that the goal of online homework is to enhance the learning of the students who are taking the product’s course. This contrasts with the more traditional approach to the creation of assignments, which is to maximize overall scores. In contrast, when a professor implementing online homework emphasizes learning, it is not always the case that the students’ scores overnight go up.

Professors who emphasize learning performance find that they achieve progress better by including deliverables in their courses that students are required to export from their MR product to be graded by the professor. These might include one-page check-ups where students work back from where they made mistakes on a homework or assessment and touch key mathematical points encountered along the way, articulate the meaning of the solutions to problems and the techniques they learned, and explain their thought processes, and weekly online discussions where students are required to post snippets of their work from the week, along with critical reflections. They prompt a learning and attention loop in which students revisit topics that they are weak on, providing thoughtful, immediate, and regular feedback to students as they proceed, to steadily improve the students’ understanding and openness to learning.

4. Tools and Technologies for Creating Effective Online Homework Assignments

The most familiar way to create online exercises in introductory physics is to use WebAssign or Mastering Physics. However, there are also several pieces of software and web-based apps which make creating engaging and effective pre-class exercises easier and the cost is right – dirt cheap, i.e., free. Easy-to-use interfaces have led to competition, and there are now a range of programs designed for introductory physics, easily accessible from any computer with a browser. We list some of them below to point out the wide range of choices available, and also to acknowledge some clever ideas which have already been implemented.

While engaged in this research, we have come to the conclusion that learning often proceeds more rapidly and easily from inherently free resources to teachers and to students. In this spirit of DIY, we have developed some of our own program resources, as no-cost adaptations from external stimuli. The choice of form is dictated by the transmission of the physical intuition of our own students, our most effective teaching device on a daily basis. Each of these programs was originally purchased by the students themselves for the price of a college textbook. At price = “free”, the transformative power of the computer should be more easily recognized within the culture of the educational experience. Upon completion, the files were sent to the students or uploaded onto our student course management server. The students download the executable and the data files of PDF or text file given with an exercise, and then upload their work within our Student Course Management system. Our “pods” are available separately or as an executable group. Tech support consists of the talented IT professionals who make the educational mission of this university possible. Directly after the Advanced Lab reports are handed in, we have had in previous academic semesters over 22,000 student hits on the server containing our individually made online homework. At last check, all assignments received to date were coming up 0. Growth is good! Undergraduate physics students appreciate its concreteness and utility – its raw power.

5. Conclusion and Future Trends in Online Homework Assignments

In summary, online assignment tools can free instructors from having to grade routine homework, allowing them to spend more time on active learning exercises during recitation. Web-based tools also allow assignments to be much longer and involve some nonroutine elements while keeping the total grading workload manageable. A change that online assignments encourage is that instructors might require student learning instead of just the answer. The instructor may push to the students more questions and exercises, and then just assign some of those problems for them to work on at the computer. However, an activity that upholds the importance of learning can be very positive. Students frequently assert that they learn economics by doing problems. The ultimate proof is, of course, to work some problems. If students want the grade to match the learning expressed in a well-written explanation, then this can only represent a positive achievement.