GRADING HOMEWORK AS FORMATIVE ASSIGNMENTS – THE SOLUTION TO CHEATING?

2022 18th International CDIO Conference, Reykjavik University, Iceland

Homework assignments are common assessment tools used to assist learning in Engineering. Since they are meant to assist students in acquiring the material presented, they should be considered formative assessments with no grade given. Student’s engagement in homework assignments is time consuming (as real learning is) so students want to be rewarded for their effort i.e., they want their homework assignments to count towards their final grade in the course. This, however, increases the stakes for students making it more tempting to cheat if the problems turn out to be too difficult or if students run out of time. If students split tasks and mindlessly copy one others’ solution, copy some solution manual, or buy a solved solution form such service e.g., Chegg, the learning goal of the homework is however not met. A perfect solution that does not originate from the student contributes to much less learning than a not completely perfect solution from the student’s own effort. The learning process comes from the effort and being given timely feedback to correct all misconceptions. The author of this paper therefore in 2016 stopped giving a grade for homework in two bachelor’s degree courses and gave only a feedback. Just by turning in the homework students get a full score for their effort. By doing so the incentive to cheat has been eliminated and students are rewarded for their effort. To evaluate the effects of this change three sources of information are used: student teaching evaluation surveys, students’ final grades and instructor’s reflections. Students repeatedly state they like this approach and say it is often a breaking point in them deciding to work on the homework in those courses instead of other courses where the homework is harshly graded. Homework assignment solutions suspicious of cheating have also reduced significantly.

Authors (New):

Ásdís Helgadóttir

Pages:

869-880

Affiliations:

University of Iceland, Iceland

Keywords:

Homework

Formative Assessment

Reduce cheating

CDIO Standard 1

CDIO Standard 2

CDIO Standard 3

CDIO Standard 6

CDIO Standard 7

CDIO Standard 8

CDIO Standard 10

CDIO Standard 11

Year:

2022

Reference:

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on October 14, 2022 - 03:43 Maria Siiskonen

GRADING HOMEWORK AS FORMATIVE ASSIGNMENTS – THE SOLUTION TO CHEATING?

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GRADING HOMEWORK AS FORMATIVE ASSIGNMENTS – THE SOLUTION TO CHEATING?

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