Re: [MATHEDCC] Partial Credit?

Murphy Waggoner (waggoner@STORM.SIMPSON.EDU)
Tue, 5 Aug 1997 15:12:46 -0600

>Gregg Longanecker wrote:
>I believe partial credit can be used to help the student learn. I tell
>all my classes I will award partial credit for their work. All work must
>be included with the test. However when I grade the paper I mark every
>problem which has an incorrect answer wrong. I will place a ? on any
>answer that may be partially correct. The student must then argue their
>case why their work is correct.

I like this idea and will give it a try in the fall in one of my classes.
One of the problems I have with making changes like this is that I was
taught to "correct" papers instead to "check" papers. When I am reading a
paper (homework, exam, whatever) and I see something wrong, my first
instinct it to write the correct answer to the side. I used to think that
by giving the student that type of feedback they would learn. Although a
few students analyze their papers upon return, most students never pick up
a "corrected" paper again. Analysis of work (student analysis of student
work) needs to be an important part of our courses. Gregg's suggestion and
the test corrections mentioned by Kathy Acks are a couple of ways to do
that.

Murphy

---------------------
M. E. "Murphy" Waggoner
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Simpson College
701 North C Street
Indianola, IA 50125
waggoner@storm.simpson.edu
www.simpson.edu/~math
---------------------

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