Getting the Most Out of Online Homework

Session S158

George WoodburyCollege of the Sequoias

Visalia, CA

Benefits of Incorporating Online Homework

Potential Conflicts

Conflict #1Learning vs. Copying (or

worse)

Copying

Overuse of Learning

Aids

Tutor

Other Hired Help

Conflict #2Student vs. Instructor

My Traditional Approach (Algebra)Homework (1

assignment/section)Quizzes (2 quizzes/chapter)20-30% of total grade

If homework is worth 30% of the course grade …Students only need to score

40/70 (57%) of the remaining points in order to pass the class.

Help Your Students Understand

the Purpose of Homework

Explain How the Learning Aids Work, and How to Avoid Abuse

Student Best Practices DocumentLocated on my website:

georgewoodbury.com

(You can also email me for a copy.)

Don’t just guess or look for patterns.

When you hand in an exam, your instructor won’t say “That’s wrong. Guess again.”

Keep a notebook for working out homework problems.You will have to do

these problems by hand on your exam – you should do your homework the same way. When you get a

problem wrong, you need to be able to figure out why.

Don’t copy & paste your way through the assignment.

What will you copy from during the exam?

Don’t over rely on step-by-step solutions.

What will happen during the exam when you ask your instructor to walk you through a problem, step-by-step?

The video lectures are a helpful tool.While these videos are an excellent supplement, they are not intended to replace your classroom lecture.Don’t skip class because

you can always watch the video later.

TWO APPROACHES THAT MOTIVATE STUDENTS

Approach 1: Student Contracts

My First Contract With My Students Any student who meets the

following criteria will have the option of completing a final cumulative assignment instead of taking the final exam. In such a situation, the student will keep the grade that they had before the final.

Criteria for ContractPerfect scores on all online

homework assignmentsOnline quiz average of at least

80%No more than 2 absencesExam average of at least 70%

ResultsFall 2007My Class

With Contract

Spring 2007My ClassesNo Contract

Fall 2007Campus

WidePass 48.3%

Fail 33.8%

Drop 17.9%

Retention

82.1%

ResultsFall 2007My Class

With Contract

Spring 2007My ClassesNo Contract

Fall 2007Campus

WidePass 49.4% 48.3%

Fail 36.5% 33.8%

Drop 14.1% 17.9%

Retention

85.9% 82.1%

ResultsFall 2007My Class

With Contract

Spring 2007My ClassesNo Contract

Fall 2007Campus

WidePass 68.5% 49.4% 48.3%

Fail 22.2% 36.5% 33.8%

Drop 9.3% 14.1% 17.9%

Retention

90.7% 85.9% 82.1%

Comparison To Prior SemesterTest Averages

AverageFall ’07

With ContractSpring ’07

No ContractA 35% 12%

B 39% 21%

C 12% 36%

D 8% 9%

F 6% 22%

Comparison To Prior Semester

Success Rate, by ExamFall 2007

With ContractSpring

2007No Contract

Test 1 – Transition 83% 74%Test 2 – Radicals 79% 55%Test 3 – Quadratic 80% 62%Test 4 – Functions 76% 61%Test 5 – Exp./Logs 71% 36%Test 6 – Conics 94% 92%

Comparison To Prior Semester

Percentage of A’s, by ExamFall 2007

With ContractSpring 2007

No ContractTest 1 – Transition 44% 30%Test 2 – Radicals 42% 20%Test 3 – Quadratic 35% 24%Test 4 – Functions 41% 21%Test 5 – Exp./Logs 33% 12%Test 6 – Conics 92% 76%

Comparison To Prior Semester

Mean Score, by ExamFall 2007

With ContractSpring 2007No Contract

Test 1 – Transition 83.0 77.6Test 2 – Radicals 79.6 67.6Test 3 – Quadratic 79.7 73.8Test 4 – Functions 81.0 71.8Test 5 – Exp./Logs 75.0 58.3Test 6 – Conics 93.1 88.5

OutcomeStudents understood that the goal of

the class was to learn and understand the material.

Students knew that they had to perform well on exams to earn the benefit(s) of the contract, and that doing well on the homework was the best way to do well on the exams.

The perks obtained from the contract were a significant extrinsic motivator.

Approach 2:Mastery Learning

& Elements of Game Design

Grading SystemI wanted to create a grading

system that was not just a translation of the standard grading scale.

Test GradesTests are graded pass (70% or

above) or fail.Pass = 1 Point, Fail = 0 PointsHomework and quizzes do not

directly count towards a student’s grade, but instead can be used to “level up”.

Leveling UpStudents who have satisfactory

online homework scores (90% on each assignment) and online quiz scores (70% on each quiz) level up and have a chance to earn bonuses.

Bonus Earned70-79% on test: 2 points (instead

of 1)

80-100% on test: 3 points (instead of 1)

Mastery LearningLeveled up, but failed test:

Students can retest the following week for 1 point

Points Available25 points available before final

6 tests (up to 3 points each)1 test is doubled4 points for final review quiz/homework assignment

100 points from final exam

GradesA: 100 pointsB: 88 pointsC: 76 points

ResultsOnly 1 drop from 47 students

(98% retention)3 students did not take the finalA: 15 B: 8 C: 5 D: 4 F: 1433% A’s, 61% Success

Common Final Results43 of my students took a

common final exam, along with 101 students from different classes/instructors.

Common Final ResultsMean: 12.5 higher than control

groupMedian: 14 higher than control

groupMedian was greater than Q3 for

control

Semester 2Intermediate Algebra

Mean score increased by 6.4 pointsMedian score increased by 11 points

Elementary AlgebraMean: 77.2 Median: 81.5Q1: 75

Historical Results – Now in Semester 5Typical Exam: 60% level up

Leveled Up: Success rate of approximately 90% on exams

Did Not Level Up: Success rate of approximately 50% on exams

OutcomeStudents knew that homework

scores only mattered if they were successful on exams.

Students understood that they were to use the online homework to learn and understand the material.

The perks obtained from “leveling up” were a significant extrinsic motivator.

Summary

Make Students Aware of Benefits Gained from Doing Homework the “Right Way”

Make Students Aware of Pitfalls of Not Doing

Homework the “Right Way”

Create a Grading System that Encourages Doing

Homework, but Puts the Emphasis on Learning and

Understanding

Contact InformationEmail: georgew@cos.edu

Web Site: georgewoodbury.com

Twitter: @georgewoodbury