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Accidentally leaked the solution to an assignment, what to do now? (I'm the prof)
What to do if assignment is against student's religion?Made some great course slides, now what?How do I inspire my students to work through problems on their own?What to do when majority of the students do not bother to do peer grading assignment?I have accidentally given students assignment guidelines that conflict with the course coordinator's. How I can rectify my mistake?Can I learn the course material for the first time while I'm teaching it?Can I copyright materials I developed if it was asked to be written by the school I'm working at?Is the “okay” hand gesture now unacceptable to use in class?My professor who doesn't let me use my phone to read the textbook online in while I'm in class. What should I do?As a course lecturer, should I excuse late assignment submissions if I wrote the assignment deadline slightly wrong?
TL;DR; I accidentally made the solution of an assignment visible to some of my students. How can I now fairly address that problem?
A few weeks ago I set a programming assignment to be done using Processing (a graphical programming tool), and to make sure the goal was clear I implemented a solution on openprocessing.org, which I made available to the students. On openprocessing.org, they can look at the working program (a little graphical game similar to tic-tac-toe), but the source code is hidden to them (I took a paid account to get private source code).
But then I embedded the openprocessing.org 'sketch' (a web page that displays the working program as described above) in a different web page, and failed to notice that the embedded version has the source code readily available (the person viewing the sketch just clicks an icon at the top and they get the editor with the source code). I think that's a bug with openprocessing.org and I complained to them (and there's obviously also an oversight on my part), but that's not relevant to my issue.
So basically the solution to the assignment was available to anybody who clicked that button at the top. It's not obvious, so I think only a few students noticed it. One team emailed me asking whether it was intentional and expressing their concern.
The assignment deadline is in 5 days (it's been up for 2 weeks) and it's the end of the term. This was supposed to be 10% of their grade.
I took down the visible solution, and I' trying to come up with a contingency plan. I could cancel the whole assignment, or give everyone full marks... Just let those who saw it submit as is (and indicate the source). I just don't know how to handle this best.
Any suggestions or recommendations?
teaching assignment
add a comment |
TL;DR; I accidentally made the solution of an assignment visible to some of my students. How can I now fairly address that problem?
A few weeks ago I set a programming assignment to be done using Processing (a graphical programming tool), and to make sure the goal was clear I implemented a solution on openprocessing.org, which I made available to the students. On openprocessing.org, they can look at the working program (a little graphical game similar to tic-tac-toe), but the source code is hidden to them (I took a paid account to get private source code).
But then I embedded the openprocessing.org 'sketch' (a web page that displays the working program as described above) in a different web page, and failed to notice that the embedded version has the source code readily available (the person viewing the sketch just clicks an icon at the top and they get the editor with the source code). I think that's a bug with openprocessing.org and I complained to them (and there's obviously also an oversight on my part), but that's not relevant to my issue.
So basically the solution to the assignment was available to anybody who clicked that button at the top. It's not obvious, so I think only a few students noticed it. One team emailed me asking whether it was intentional and expressing their concern.
The assignment deadline is in 5 days (it's been up for 2 weeks) and it's the end of the term. This was supposed to be 10% of their grade.
I took down the visible solution, and I' trying to come up with a contingency plan. I could cancel the whole assignment, or give everyone full marks... Just let those who saw it submit as is (and indicate the source). I just don't know how to handle this best.
Any suggestions or recommendations?
teaching assignment
4
Yeah just give the solutions to everyone to be fair. Too late to change grading and requirements. But hopefully you are curving the grade so the effect is nothing.
– A Simple Algorithm
7 hours ago
7
@ASimpleAlgorithm "hopefully you are curving the grade" I am not convinced grading on a curve is necessarily better.
– Davidmh
6 hours ago
1
This is something you need to be discussing with whoever's in charge of teaching in your department, not random strangers on the internet.
– David Richerby
6 hours ago
2
@Davidmh Are you speaking generally about curving, or about its value in this particular case? Because my statement was in regard to the benefits of curving in this particular case. By giving out the answers so everyone gains equally, no one gains an advantage in the curve. As for general complaints about curving, I probably don't curve in a way that has the drawbacks you are thinking of.
– A Simple Algorithm
6 hours ago
1
What does your school's academic honesty policy say about using the solution? Just because it was made available doesn't necessarily make it fair game for anyone who found it. (This doesn't help redress the situation for students who didn't use the solution, or help you determine which ones did, of course.)
– chepner
2 hours ago
add a comment |
TL;DR; I accidentally made the solution of an assignment visible to some of my students. How can I now fairly address that problem?
A few weeks ago I set a programming assignment to be done using Processing (a graphical programming tool), and to make sure the goal was clear I implemented a solution on openprocessing.org, which I made available to the students. On openprocessing.org, they can look at the working program (a little graphical game similar to tic-tac-toe), but the source code is hidden to them (I took a paid account to get private source code).
But then I embedded the openprocessing.org 'sketch' (a web page that displays the working program as described above) in a different web page, and failed to notice that the embedded version has the source code readily available (the person viewing the sketch just clicks an icon at the top and they get the editor with the source code). I think that's a bug with openprocessing.org and I complained to them (and there's obviously also an oversight on my part), but that's not relevant to my issue.
So basically the solution to the assignment was available to anybody who clicked that button at the top. It's not obvious, so I think only a few students noticed it. One team emailed me asking whether it was intentional and expressing their concern.
The assignment deadline is in 5 days (it's been up for 2 weeks) and it's the end of the term. This was supposed to be 10% of their grade.
I took down the visible solution, and I' trying to come up with a contingency plan. I could cancel the whole assignment, or give everyone full marks... Just let those who saw it submit as is (and indicate the source). I just don't know how to handle this best.
Any suggestions or recommendations?
teaching assignment
TL;DR; I accidentally made the solution of an assignment visible to some of my students. How can I now fairly address that problem?
A few weeks ago I set a programming assignment to be done using Processing (a graphical programming tool), and to make sure the goal was clear I implemented a solution on openprocessing.org, which I made available to the students. On openprocessing.org, they can look at the working program (a little graphical game similar to tic-tac-toe), but the source code is hidden to them (I took a paid account to get private source code).
But then I embedded the openprocessing.org 'sketch' (a web page that displays the working program as described above) in a different web page, and failed to notice that the embedded version has the source code readily available (the person viewing the sketch just clicks an icon at the top and they get the editor with the source code). I think that's a bug with openprocessing.org and I complained to them (and there's obviously also an oversight on my part), but that's not relevant to my issue.
So basically the solution to the assignment was available to anybody who clicked that button at the top. It's not obvious, so I think only a few students noticed it. One team emailed me asking whether it was intentional and expressing their concern.
The assignment deadline is in 5 days (it's been up for 2 weeks) and it's the end of the term. This was supposed to be 10% of their grade.
I took down the visible solution, and I' trying to come up with a contingency plan. I could cancel the whole assignment, or give everyone full marks... Just let those who saw it submit as is (and indicate the source). I just don't know how to handle this best.
Any suggestions or recommendations?
teaching assignment
teaching assignment
edited 8 hours ago
Bryan Krause
16k34468
16k34468
asked 8 hours ago
user3780968user3780968
80969
80969
4
Yeah just give the solutions to everyone to be fair. Too late to change grading and requirements. But hopefully you are curving the grade so the effect is nothing.
– A Simple Algorithm
7 hours ago
7
@ASimpleAlgorithm "hopefully you are curving the grade" I am not convinced grading on a curve is necessarily better.
– Davidmh
6 hours ago
1
This is something you need to be discussing with whoever's in charge of teaching in your department, not random strangers on the internet.
– David Richerby
6 hours ago
2
@Davidmh Are you speaking generally about curving, or about its value in this particular case? Because my statement was in regard to the benefits of curving in this particular case. By giving out the answers so everyone gains equally, no one gains an advantage in the curve. As for general complaints about curving, I probably don't curve in a way that has the drawbacks you are thinking of.
– A Simple Algorithm
6 hours ago
1
What does your school's academic honesty policy say about using the solution? Just because it was made available doesn't necessarily make it fair game for anyone who found it. (This doesn't help redress the situation for students who didn't use the solution, or help you determine which ones did, of course.)
– chepner
2 hours ago
add a comment |
4
Yeah just give the solutions to everyone to be fair. Too late to change grading and requirements. But hopefully you are curving the grade so the effect is nothing.
– A Simple Algorithm
7 hours ago
7
@ASimpleAlgorithm "hopefully you are curving the grade" I am not convinced grading on a curve is necessarily better.
– Davidmh
6 hours ago
1
This is something you need to be discussing with whoever's in charge of teaching in your department, not random strangers on the internet.
– David Richerby
6 hours ago
2
@Davidmh Are you speaking generally about curving, or about its value in this particular case? Because my statement was in regard to the benefits of curving in this particular case. By giving out the answers so everyone gains equally, no one gains an advantage in the curve. As for general complaints about curving, I probably don't curve in a way that has the drawbacks you are thinking of.
– A Simple Algorithm
6 hours ago
1
What does your school's academic honesty policy say about using the solution? Just because it was made available doesn't necessarily make it fair game for anyone who found it. (This doesn't help redress the situation for students who didn't use the solution, or help you determine which ones did, of course.)
– chepner
2 hours ago
4
4
Yeah just give the solutions to everyone to be fair. Too late to change grading and requirements. But hopefully you are curving the grade so the effect is nothing.
– A Simple Algorithm
7 hours ago
Yeah just give the solutions to everyone to be fair. Too late to change grading and requirements. But hopefully you are curving the grade so the effect is nothing.
– A Simple Algorithm
7 hours ago
7
7
@ASimpleAlgorithm "hopefully you are curving the grade" I am not convinced grading on a curve is necessarily better.
– Davidmh
6 hours ago
@ASimpleAlgorithm "hopefully you are curving the grade" I am not convinced grading on a curve is necessarily better.
– Davidmh
6 hours ago
1
1
This is something you need to be discussing with whoever's in charge of teaching in your department, not random strangers on the internet.
– David Richerby
6 hours ago
This is something you need to be discussing with whoever's in charge of teaching in your department, not random strangers on the internet.
– David Richerby
6 hours ago
2
2
@Davidmh Are you speaking generally about curving, or about its value in this particular case? Because my statement was in regard to the benefits of curving in this particular case. By giving out the answers so everyone gains equally, no one gains an advantage in the curve. As for general complaints about curving, I probably don't curve in a way that has the drawbacks you are thinking of.
– A Simple Algorithm
6 hours ago
@Davidmh Are you speaking generally about curving, or about its value in this particular case? Because my statement was in regard to the benefits of curving in this particular case. By giving out the answers so everyone gains equally, no one gains an advantage in the curve. As for general complaints about curving, I probably don't curve in a way that has the drawbacks you are thinking of.
– A Simple Algorithm
6 hours ago
1
1
What does your school's academic honesty policy say about using the solution? Just because it was made available doesn't necessarily make it fair game for anyone who found it. (This doesn't help redress the situation for students who didn't use the solution, or help you determine which ones did, of course.)
– chepner
2 hours ago
What does your school's academic honesty policy say about using the solution? Just because it was made available doesn't necessarily make it fair game for anyone who found it. (This doesn't help redress the situation for students who didn't use the solution, or help you determine which ones did, of course.)
– chepner
2 hours ago
add a comment |
7 Answers
7
active
oldest
votes
Very simple actually. Abandon the assignment. Apologize for the error, but not for wasting people's time. Those who didn't find the solution and worked on it certainly learned something. Those who found the solution used their time otherwise and hopefully learned something else.
Mistakes happen.
If you use a large number of exercises in grading it is probably harmless to give everyone full marks. They will be happy and it won't really matter otherwise. But trying, in any way, to discriminate between various levels of "performance" on such an exercise is a minefield.
One thing to remember, however. Presumably you gave that assignment because students would be expected to learn some specific thing(s) by doing it. That may not have occurred, so you need to assure that you find some way to reinforce that lesson in some future activity.
5
I agree with this aside from probably saying that you should only give the 10% mark to anyone who completed the assignment.
– Valorum
7 hours ago
3
I agree with @Valorum, only those that took the time to complete the assignment (legitimately or copying) should receive full credit, but also go over the submitted assignments, as the ones that actually did do the work on their own will benefit more from having any errors pointed out to them so that they don't make the same error/assumption on the final or later in life.
– dmoore1181
7 hours ago
@dmoore1181, do you really have a way to know who did what? Or would you just guess and grade accordingly. I agree, of course, that if they did the work they probably learned the appropriate lessons, but it seems impossible to judge that now.
– Buffy
6 hours ago
2
@Buffy, by those that took the time to complete the assignment, I mean turned in anything at all. Sorry for the confusion.
– dmoore1181
6 hours ago
2
If you are grading on a curve, I'd highly suggest counting the assignment as 0 points, fitting the curve, then adding back 10 points to everyone. Some students may have been depending on their high performance on the assignment relative to their peers to increase their grade. If you give everyone full marks but curve afterwards, you rob them of that opportunity. By curving first, you give everyone the same grade bump, but may need to explain to your superiors why your resulting class grade distribution does not fit the expected curve.
– MooseBoys
5 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
Leave the solution visible. Comment on it to everyone (so it is fair). Still require everyone to turn in a solution, but cannot be verbatim copy (but they can copy the algorithm/ideas/etc).
Then, announce and include that same tool/problem solving technique in the final exam. Those who work the hardest on understanding (not just copying) will be rewarded for their effort. Those who do not, will not do as well on the final.
Naturally the final has less time to do the work, but they have already seen an explicit way to work out that type of problem. If it is too big, you could provide some pieces, and they have to add the remaining functions.
The net effect of leaking the solution will just that everyone studies it to learn the tool for their exam.
New contributor
add a comment |
I would just give them all the 10% saying that you made the solution available by accident - they will laugh and forget in 10 minutes. And, yes, been there, done that... You are not alone.
Just rely on the other 90% to give you the grading curve - nothing wrong with those I hope.
add a comment |
You might be able to measure the damage by just asking the students. Most students are honest if you're transparent with them (though some campus cultures might be different than others). Consider asking each student to attach a signed statement to their assignment saying that they cited any resources, including solution sets, that they referenced. You can explicitly mention why you're asking -- tell the students that you will not penalize anyone who saw the solutions, but you do consider it cheating if they lie about it.
If it turns out that everyone saw the solutions, or if you don't feel that the above approach would work in your situation (e.g., very large class, too many unscrupulous students), then I agree with the other answers -- don't grade for "quality." Instead, just grade for effort -- all working solutions get 10/10, regardless of whether they just barely met the requirements from the assignment or whether they are as good as your solution. That way no one who made a good effort would get a lower score than someone who used the solutions.
1
Basically, the added lesson of properly referencing sources, and how to do so, can be an additional part of the assignment. It can also include a discussion of licensing and what is acceptable to do from a licensing/copyright POV. Overall, this could be a very beneficial learning experience for the students.
– Makyen
7 hours ago
add a comment |
You could make the leaked solution available to everyone. However if you only do this, it will be somewhat inequal to students who have already put a lot of work in on the problem, compared to students who have not done much/any work on the assignment yet. That is somewhat balanced by the intrinsic unmeasurable natural usefulness of having worked on assignments, however.
To iron out that inequality, you could also modify the assignment slightly so that it now involves a slight (not major, or else you would be unfairly increasing the expected work load of the class) twist, that will require them to both implement the leaked solution, and then solve some additional problem on top of it that requires understanding the leaked solution and expanding slightly upon it. The extra work should be designed to be more than balanced by the reduced work resulting from having the original solution provided. (Weight the assignment a bit less since most of the assignment solution was provided.)
The advantage of adding a twist designed that way, is that the students still need to do the work and understand the original assignment, and get the deeper experience of building upon it (which is of course a good sort of experience for programming problems).
add a comment |
Instead of a programming task, make them explain in a short paper how your solution works, what advantages and disadvantages there are, what compromises you made and so on.
add a comment |
Plagiarism is always something you should be worrying about. Especially for an undergraduate class like this where there are plenty of solutions online for building a tictactoe game, or even building it in processing. If people wanted to copy, they would likely have found someone else's solution online due to yours being hidden.
If you are worried that someone may copy of it, the simplest way to address the problem is to tell the class what happened and to remind them that copying your solution is plagiarism.
For programming assignments such as this, sometimes it is hard to come up with a new solution - but once you've seen and understood a working solution, the problem becomes much easier (even if you're not copying anything). It is certainly difficult to argue that students who saw it, even if briefly and without malicious intent, didn't have an unfair advantage.
– osuka_
4 hours ago
add a comment |
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7 Answers
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active
oldest
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7 Answers
7
active
oldest
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active
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oldest
votes
Very simple actually. Abandon the assignment. Apologize for the error, but not for wasting people's time. Those who didn't find the solution and worked on it certainly learned something. Those who found the solution used their time otherwise and hopefully learned something else.
Mistakes happen.
If you use a large number of exercises in grading it is probably harmless to give everyone full marks. They will be happy and it won't really matter otherwise. But trying, in any way, to discriminate between various levels of "performance" on such an exercise is a minefield.
One thing to remember, however. Presumably you gave that assignment because students would be expected to learn some specific thing(s) by doing it. That may not have occurred, so you need to assure that you find some way to reinforce that lesson in some future activity.
5
I agree with this aside from probably saying that you should only give the 10% mark to anyone who completed the assignment.
– Valorum
7 hours ago
3
I agree with @Valorum, only those that took the time to complete the assignment (legitimately or copying) should receive full credit, but also go over the submitted assignments, as the ones that actually did do the work on their own will benefit more from having any errors pointed out to them so that they don't make the same error/assumption on the final or later in life.
– dmoore1181
7 hours ago
@dmoore1181, do you really have a way to know who did what? Or would you just guess and grade accordingly. I agree, of course, that if they did the work they probably learned the appropriate lessons, but it seems impossible to judge that now.
– Buffy
6 hours ago
2
@Buffy, by those that took the time to complete the assignment, I mean turned in anything at all. Sorry for the confusion.
– dmoore1181
6 hours ago
2
If you are grading on a curve, I'd highly suggest counting the assignment as 0 points, fitting the curve, then adding back 10 points to everyone. Some students may have been depending on their high performance on the assignment relative to their peers to increase their grade. If you give everyone full marks but curve afterwards, you rob them of that opportunity. By curving first, you give everyone the same grade bump, but may need to explain to your superiors why your resulting class grade distribution does not fit the expected curve.
– MooseBoys
5 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
Very simple actually. Abandon the assignment. Apologize for the error, but not for wasting people's time. Those who didn't find the solution and worked on it certainly learned something. Those who found the solution used their time otherwise and hopefully learned something else.
Mistakes happen.
If you use a large number of exercises in grading it is probably harmless to give everyone full marks. They will be happy and it won't really matter otherwise. But trying, in any way, to discriminate between various levels of "performance" on such an exercise is a minefield.
One thing to remember, however. Presumably you gave that assignment because students would be expected to learn some specific thing(s) by doing it. That may not have occurred, so you need to assure that you find some way to reinforce that lesson in some future activity.
5
I agree with this aside from probably saying that you should only give the 10% mark to anyone who completed the assignment.
– Valorum
7 hours ago
3
I agree with @Valorum, only those that took the time to complete the assignment (legitimately or copying) should receive full credit, but also go over the submitted assignments, as the ones that actually did do the work on their own will benefit more from having any errors pointed out to them so that they don't make the same error/assumption on the final or later in life.
– dmoore1181
7 hours ago
@dmoore1181, do you really have a way to know who did what? Or would you just guess and grade accordingly. I agree, of course, that if they did the work they probably learned the appropriate lessons, but it seems impossible to judge that now.
– Buffy
6 hours ago
2
@Buffy, by those that took the time to complete the assignment, I mean turned in anything at all. Sorry for the confusion.
– dmoore1181
6 hours ago
2
If you are grading on a curve, I'd highly suggest counting the assignment as 0 points, fitting the curve, then adding back 10 points to everyone. Some students may have been depending on their high performance on the assignment relative to their peers to increase their grade. If you give everyone full marks but curve afterwards, you rob them of that opportunity. By curving first, you give everyone the same grade bump, but may need to explain to your superiors why your resulting class grade distribution does not fit the expected curve.
– MooseBoys
5 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
Very simple actually. Abandon the assignment. Apologize for the error, but not for wasting people's time. Those who didn't find the solution and worked on it certainly learned something. Those who found the solution used their time otherwise and hopefully learned something else.
Mistakes happen.
If you use a large number of exercises in grading it is probably harmless to give everyone full marks. They will be happy and it won't really matter otherwise. But trying, in any way, to discriminate between various levels of "performance" on such an exercise is a minefield.
One thing to remember, however. Presumably you gave that assignment because students would be expected to learn some specific thing(s) by doing it. That may not have occurred, so you need to assure that you find some way to reinforce that lesson in some future activity.
Very simple actually. Abandon the assignment. Apologize for the error, but not for wasting people's time. Those who didn't find the solution and worked on it certainly learned something. Those who found the solution used their time otherwise and hopefully learned something else.
Mistakes happen.
If you use a large number of exercises in grading it is probably harmless to give everyone full marks. They will be happy and it won't really matter otherwise. But trying, in any way, to discriminate between various levels of "performance" on such an exercise is a minefield.
One thing to remember, however. Presumably you gave that assignment because students would be expected to learn some specific thing(s) by doing it. That may not have occurred, so you need to assure that you find some way to reinforce that lesson in some future activity.
answered 8 hours ago
BuffyBuffy
56k16176272
56k16176272
5
I agree with this aside from probably saying that you should only give the 10% mark to anyone who completed the assignment.
– Valorum
7 hours ago
3
I agree with @Valorum, only those that took the time to complete the assignment (legitimately or copying) should receive full credit, but also go over the submitted assignments, as the ones that actually did do the work on their own will benefit more from having any errors pointed out to them so that they don't make the same error/assumption on the final or later in life.
– dmoore1181
7 hours ago
@dmoore1181, do you really have a way to know who did what? Or would you just guess and grade accordingly. I agree, of course, that if they did the work they probably learned the appropriate lessons, but it seems impossible to judge that now.
– Buffy
6 hours ago
2
@Buffy, by those that took the time to complete the assignment, I mean turned in anything at all. Sorry for the confusion.
– dmoore1181
6 hours ago
2
If you are grading on a curve, I'd highly suggest counting the assignment as 0 points, fitting the curve, then adding back 10 points to everyone. Some students may have been depending on their high performance on the assignment relative to their peers to increase their grade. If you give everyone full marks but curve afterwards, you rob them of that opportunity. By curving first, you give everyone the same grade bump, but may need to explain to your superiors why your resulting class grade distribution does not fit the expected curve.
– MooseBoys
5 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
5
I agree with this aside from probably saying that you should only give the 10% mark to anyone who completed the assignment.
– Valorum
7 hours ago
3
I agree with @Valorum, only those that took the time to complete the assignment (legitimately or copying) should receive full credit, but also go over the submitted assignments, as the ones that actually did do the work on their own will benefit more from having any errors pointed out to them so that they don't make the same error/assumption on the final or later in life.
– dmoore1181
7 hours ago
@dmoore1181, do you really have a way to know who did what? Or would you just guess and grade accordingly. I agree, of course, that if they did the work they probably learned the appropriate lessons, but it seems impossible to judge that now.
– Buffy
6 hours ago
2
@Buffy, by those that took the time to complete the assignment, I mean turned in anything at all. Sorry for the confusion.
– dmoore1181
6 hours ago
2
If you are grading on a curve, I'd highly suggest counting the assignment as 0 points, fitting the curve, then adding back 10 points to everyone. Some students may have been depending on their high performance on the assignment relative to their peers to increase their grade. If you give everyone full marks but curve afterwards, you rob them of that opportunity. By curving first, you give everyone the same grade bump, but may need to explain to your superiors why your resulting class grade distribution does not fit the expected curve.
– MooseBoys
5 hours ago
5
5
I agree with this aside from probably saying that you should only give the 10% mark to anyone who completed the assignment.
– Valorum
7 hours ago
I agree with this aside from probably saying that you should only give the 10% mark to anyone who completed the assignment.
– Valorum
7 hours ago
3
3
I agree with @Valorum, only those that took the time to complete the assignment (legitimately or copying) should receive full credit, but also go over the submitted assignments, as the ones that actually did do the work on their own will benefit more from having any errors pointed out to them so that they don't make the same error/assumption on the final or later in life.
– dmoore1181
7 hours ago
I agree with @Valorum, only those that took the time to complete the assignment (legitimately or copying) should receive full credit, but also go over the submitted assignments, as the ones that actually did do the work on their own will benefit more from having any errors pointed out to them so that they don't make the same error/assumption on the final or later in life.
– dmoore1181
7 hours ago
@dmoore1181, do you really have a way to know who did what? Or would you just guess and grade accordingly. I agree, of course, that if they did the work they probably learned the appropriate lessons, but it seems impossible to judge that now.
– Buffy
6 hours ago
@dmoore1181, do you really have a way to know who did what? Or would you just guess and grade accordingly. I agree, of course, that if they did the work they probably learned the appropriate lessons, but it seems impossible to judge that now.
– Buffy
6 hours ago
2
2
@Buffy, by those that took the time to complete the assignment, I mean turned in anything at all. Sorry for the confusion.
– dmoore1181
6 hours ago
@Buffy, by those that took the time to complete the assignment, I mean turned in anything at all. Sorry for the confusion.
– dmoore1181
6 hours ago
2
2
If you are grading on a curve, I'd highly suggest counting the assignment as 0 points, fitting the curve, then adding back 10 points to everyone. Some students may have been depending on their high performance on the assignment relative to their peers to increase their grade. If you give everyone full marks but curve afterwards, you rob them of that opportunity. By curving first, you give everyone the same grade bump, but may need to explain to your superiors why your resulting class grade distribution does not fit the expected curve.
– MooseBoys
5 hours ago
If you are grading on a curve, I'd highly suggest counting the assignment as 0 points, fitting the curve, then adding back 10 points to everyone. Some students may have been depending on their high performance on the assignment relative to their peers to increase their grade. If you give everyone full marks but curve afterwards, you rob them of that opportunity. By curving first, you give everyone the same grade bump, but may need to explain to your superiors why your resulting class grade distribution does not fit the expected curve.
– MooseBoys
5 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
Leave the solution visible. Comment on it to everyone (so it is fair). Still require everyone to turn in a solution, but cannot be verbatim copy (but they can copy the algorithm/ideas/etc).
Then, announce and include that same tool/problem solving technique in the final exam. Those who work the hardest on understanding (not just copying) will be rewarded for their effort. Those who do not, will not do as well on the final.
Naturally the final has less time to do the work, but they have already seen an explicit way to work out that type of problem. If it is too big, you could provide some pieces, and they have to add the remaining functions.
The net effect of leaking the solution will just that everyone studies it to learn the tool for their exam.
New contributor
add a comment |
Leave the solution visible. Comment on it to everyone (so it is fair). Still require everyone to turn in a solution, but cannot be verbatim copy (but they can copy the algorithm/ideas/etc).
Then, announce and include that same tool/problem solving technique in the final exam. Those who work the hardest on understanding (not just copying) will be rewarded for their effort. Those who do not, will not do as well on the final.
Naturally the final has less time to do the work, but they have already seen an explicit way to work out that type of problem. If it is too big, you could provide some pieces, and they have to add the remaining functions.
The net effect of leaking the solution will just that everyone studies it to learn the tool for their exam.
New contributor
add a comment |
Leave the solution visible. Comment on it to everyone (so it is fair). Still require everyone to turn in a solution, but cannot be verbatim copy (but they can copy the algorithm/ideas/etc).
Then, announce and include that same tool/problem solving technique in the final exam. Those who work the hardest on understanding (not just copying) will be rewarded for their effort. Those who do not, will not do as well on the final.
Naturally the final has less time to do the work, but they have already seen an explicit way to work out that type of problem. If it is too big, you could provide some pieces, and they have to add the remaining functions.
The net effect of leaking the solution will just that everyone studies it to learn the tool for their exam.
New contributor
Leave the solution visible. Comment on it to everyone (so it is fair). Still require everyone to turn in a solution, but cannot be verbatim copy (but they can copy the algorithm/ideas/etc).
Then, announce and include that same tool/problem solving technique in the final exam. Those who work the hardest on understanding (not just copying) will be rewarded for their effort. Those who do not, will not do as well on the final.
Naturally the final has less time to do the work, but they have already seen an explicit way to work out that type of problem. If it is too big, you could provide some pieces, and they have to add the remaining functions.
The net effect of leaking the solution will just that everyone studies it to learn the tool for their exam.
New contributor
New contributor
answered 6 hours ago
PaulPaul
3014
3014
New contributor
New contributor
add a comment |
add a comment |
I would just give them all the 10% saying that you made the solution available by accident - they will laugh and forget in 10 minutes. And, yes, been there, done that... You are not alone.
Just rely on the other 90% to give you the grading curve - nothing wrong with those I hope.
add a comment |
I would just give them all the 10% saying that you made the solution available by accident - they will laugh and forget in 10 minutes. And, yes, been there, done that... You are not alone.
Just rely on the other 90% to give you the grading curve - nothing wrong with those I hope.
add a comment |
I would just give them all the 10% saying that you made the solution available by accident - they will laugh and forget in 10 minutes. And, yes, been there, done that... You are not alone.
Just rely on the other 90% to give you the grading curve - nothing wrong with those I hope.
I would just give them all the 10% saying that you made the solution available by accident - they will laugh and forget in 10 minutes. And, yes, been there, done that... You are not alone.
Just rely on the other 90% to give you the grading curve - nothing wrong with those I hope.
answered 8 hours ago
Solar MikeSolar Mike
14.8k52654
14.8k52654
add a comment |
add a comment |
You might be able to measure the damage by just asking the students. Most students are honest if you're transparent with them (though some campus cultures might be different than others). Consider asking each student to attach a signed statement to their assignment saying that they cited any resources, including solution sets, that they referenced. You can explicitly mention why you're asking -- tell the students that you will not penalize anyone who saw the solutions, but you do consider it cheating if they lie about it.
If it turns out that everyone saw the solutions, or if you don't feel that the above approach would work in your situation (e.g., very large class, too many unscrupulous students), then I agree with the other answers -- don't grade for "quality." Instead, just grade for effort -- all working solutions get 10/10, regardless of whether they just barely met the requirements from the assignment or whether they are as good as your solution. That way no one who made a good effort would get a lower score than someone who used the solutions.
1
Basically, the added lesson of properly referencing sources, and how to do so, can be an additional part of the assignment. It can also include a discussion of licensing and what is acceptable to do from a licensing/copyright POV. Overall, this could be a very beneficial learning experience for the students.
– Makyen
7 hours ago
add a comment |
You might be able to measure the damage by just asking the students. Most students are honest if you're transparent with them (though some campus cultures might be different than others). Consider asking each student to attach a signed statement to their assignment saying that they cited any resources, including solution sets, that they referenced. You can explicitly mention why you're asking -- tell the students that you will not penalize anyone who saw the solutions, but you do consider it cheating if they lie about it.
If it turns out that everyone saw the solutions, or if you don't feel that the above approach would work in your situation (e.g., very large class, too many unscrupulous students), then I agree with the other answers -- don't grade for "quality." Instead, just grade for effort -- all working solutions get 10/10, regardless of whether they just barely met the requirements from the assignment or whether they are as good as your solution. That way no one who made a good effort would get a lower score than someone who used the solutions.
1
Basically, the added lesson of properly referencing sources, and how to do so, can be an additional part of the assignment. It can also include a discussion of licensing and what is acceptable to do from a licensing/copyright POV. Overall, this could be a very beneficial learning experience for the students.
– Makyen
7 hours ago
add a comment |
You might be able to measure the damage by just asking the students. Most students are honest if you're transparent with them (though some campus cultures might be different than others). Consider asking each student to attach a signed statement to their assignment saying that they cited any resources, including solution sets, that they referenced. You can explicitly mention why you're asking -- tell the students that you will not penalize anyone who saw the solutions, but you do consider it cheating if they lie about it.
If it turns out that everyone saw the solutions, or if you don't feel that the above approach would work in your situation (e.g., very large class, too many unscrupulous students), then I agree with the other answers -- don't grade for "quality." Instead, just grade for effort -- all working solutions get 10/10, regardless of whether they just barely met the requirements from the assignment or whether they are as good as your solution. That way no one who made a good effort would get a lower score than someone who used the solutions.
You might be able to measure the damage by just asking the students. Most students are honest if you're transparent with them (though some campus cultures might be different than others). Consider asking each student to attach a signed statement to their assignment saying that they cited any resources, including solution sets, that they referenced. You can explicitly mention why you're asking -- tell the students that you will not penalize anyone who saw the solutions, but you do consider it cheating if they lie about it.
If it turns out that everyone saw the solutions, or if you don't feel that the above approach would work in your situation (e.g., very large class, too many unscrupulous students), then I agree with the other answers -- don't grade for "quality." Instead, just grade for effort -- all working solutions get 10/10, regardless of whether they just barely met the requirements from the assignment or whether they are as good as your solution. That way no one who made a good effort would get a lower score than someone who used the solutions.
edited 7 hours ago
answered 7 hours ago
cag51cag51
18.2k83868
18.2k83868
1
Basically, the added lesson of properly referencing sources, and how to do so, can be an additional part of the assignment. It can also include a discussion of licensing and what is acceptable to do from a licensing/copyright POV. Overall, this could be a very beneficial learning experience for the students.
– Makyen
7 hours ago
add a comment |
1
Basically, the added lesson of properly referencing sources, and how to do so, can be an additional part of the assignment. It can also include a discussion of licensing and what is acceptable to do from a licensing/copyright POV. Overall, this could be a very beneficial learning experience for the students.
– Makyen
7 hours ago
1
1
Basically, the added lesson of properly referencing sources, and how to do so, can be an additional part of the assignment. It can also include a discussion of licensing and what is acceptable to do from a licensing/copyright POV. Overall, this could be a very beneficial learning experience for the students.
– Makyen
7 hours ago
Basically, the added lesson of properly referencing sources, and how to do so, can be an additional part of the assignment. It can also include a discussion of licensing and what is acceptable to do from a licensing/copyright POV. Overall, this could be a very beneficial learning experience for the students.
– Makyen
7 hours ago
add a comment |
You could make the leaked solution available to everyone. However if you only do this, it will be somewhat inequal to students who have already put a lot of work in on the problem, compared to students who have not done much/any work on the assignment yet. That is somewhat balanced by the intrinsic unmeasurable natural usefulness of having worked on assignments, however.
To iron out that inequality, you could also modify the assignment slightly so that it now involves a slight (not major, or else you would be unfairly increasing the expected work load of the class) twist, that will require them to both implement the leaked solution, and then solve some additional problem on top of it that requires understanding the leaked solution and expanding slightly upon it. The extra work should be designed to be more than balanced by the reduced work resulting from having the original solution provided. (Weight the assignment a bit less since most of the assignment solution was provided.)
The advantage of adding a twist designed that way, is that the students still need to do the work and understand the original assignment, and get the deeper experience of building upon it (which is of course a good sort of experience for programming problems).
add a comment |
You could make the leaked solution available to everyone. However if you only do this, it will be somewhat inequal to students who have already put a lot of work in on the problem, compared to students who have not done much/any work on the assignment yet. That is somewhat balanced by the intrinsic unmeasurable natural usefulness of having worked on assignments, however.
To iron out that inequality, you could also modify the assignment slightly so that it now involves a slight (not major, or else you would be unfairly increasing the expected work load of the class) twist, that will require them to both implement the leaked solution, and then solve some additional problem on top of it that requires understanding the leaked solution and expanding slightly upon it. The extra work should be designed to be more than balanced by the reduced work resulting from having the original solution provided. (Weight the assignment a bit less since most of the assignment solution was provided.)
The advantage of adding a twist designed that way, is that the students still need to do the work and understand the original assignment, and get the deeper experience of building upon it (which is of course a good sort of experience for programming problems).
add a comment |
You could make the leaked solution available to everyone. However if you only do this, it will be somewhat inequal to students who have already put a lot of work in on the problem, compared to students who have not done much/any work on the assignment yet. That is somewhat balanced by the intrinsic unmeasurable natural usefulness of having worked on assignments, however.
To iron out that inequality, you could also modify the assignment slightly so that it now involves a slight (not major, or else you would be unfairly increasing the expected work load of the class) twist, that will require them to both implement the leaked solution, and then solve some additional problem on top of it that requires understanding the leaked solution and expanding slightly upon it. The extra work should be designed to be more than balanced by the reduced work resulting from having the original solution provided. (Weight the assignment a bit less since most of the assignment solution was provided.)
The advantage of adding a twist designed that way, is that the students still need to do the work and understand the original assignment, and get the deeper experience of building upon it (which is of course a good sort of experience for programming problems).
You could make the leaked solution available to everyone. However if you only do this, it will be somewhat inequal to students who have already put a lot of work in on the problem, compared to students who have not done much/any work on the assignment yet. That is somewhat balanced by the intrinsic unmeasurable natural usefulness of having worked on assignments, however.
To iron out that inequality, you could also modify the assignment slightly so that it now involves a slight (not major, or else you would be unfairly increasing the expected work load of the class) twist, that will require them to both implement the leaked solution, and then solve some additional problem on top of it that requires understanding the leaked solution and expanding slightly upon it. The extra work should be designed to be more than balanced by the reduced work resulting from having the original solution provided. (Weight the assignment a bit less since most of the assignment solution was provided.)
The advantage of adding a twist designed that way, is that the students still need to do the work and understand the original assignment, and get the deeper experience of building upon it (which is of course a good sort of experience for programming problems).
answered 5 hours ago
DronzDronz
2,3111810
2,3111810
add a comment |
add a comment |
Instead of a programming task, make them explain in a short paper how your solution works, what advantages and disadvantages there are, what compromises you made and so on.
add a comment |
Instead of a programming task, make them explain in a short paper how your solution works, what advantages and disadvantages there are, what compromises you made and so on.
add a comment |
Instead of a programming task, make them explain in a short paper how your solution works, what advantages and disadvantages there are, what compromises you made and so on.
Instead of a programming task, make them explain in a short paper how your solution works, what advantages and disadvantages there are, what compromises you made and so on.
answered 4 hours ago
d-bd-b
1615
1615
add a comment |
add a comment |
Plagiarism is always something you should be worrying about. Especially for an undergraduate class like this where there are plenty of solutions online for building a tictactoe game, or even building it in processing. If people wanted to copy, they would likely have found someone else's solution online due to yours being hidden.
If you are worried that someone may copy of it, the simplest way to address the problem is to tell the class what happened and to remind them that copying your solution is plagiarism.
For programming assignments such as this, sometimes it is hard to come up with a new solution - but once you've seen and understood a working solution, the problem becomes much easier (even if you're not copying anything). It is certainly difficult to argue that students who saw it, even if briefly and without malicious intent, didn't have an unfair advantage.
– osuka_
4 hours ago
add a comment |
Plagiarism is always something you should be worrying about. Especially for an undergraduate class like this where there are plenty of solutions online for building a tictactoe game, or even building it in processing. If people wanted to copy, they would likely have found someone else's solution online due to yours being hidden.
If you are worried that someone may copy of it, the simplest way to address the problem is to tell the class what happened and to remind them that copying your solution is plagiarism.
For programming assignments such as this, sometimes it is hard to come up with a new solution - but once you've seen and understood a working solution, the problem becomes much easier (even if you're not copying anything). It is certainly difficult to argue that students who saw it, even if briefly and without malicious intent, didn't have an unfair advantage.
– osuka_
4 hours ago
add a comment |
Plagiarism is always something you should be worrying about. Especially for an undergraduate class like this where there are plenty of solutions online for building a tictactoe game, or even building it in processing. If people wanted to copy, they would likely have found someone else's solution online due to yours being hidden.
If you are worried that someone may copy of it, the simplest way to address the problem is to tell the class what happened and to remind them that copying your solution is plagiarism.
Plagiarism is always something you should be worrying about. Especially for an undergraduate class like this where there are plenty of solutions online for building a tictactoe game, or even building it in processing. If people wanted to copy, they would likely have found someone else's solution online due to yours being hidden.
If you are worried that someone may copy of it, the simplest way to address the problem is to tell the class what happened and to remind them that copying your solution is plagiarism.
answered 6 hours ago
AnonAnon
2512
2512
For programming assignments such as this, sometimes it is hard to come up with a new solution - but once you've seen and understood a working solution, the problem becomes much easier (even if you're not copying anything). It is certainly difficult to argue that students who saw it, even if briefly and without malicious intent, didn't have an unfair advantage.
– osuka_
4 hours ago
add a comment |
For programming assignments such as this, sometimes it is hard to come up with a new solution - but once you've seen and understood a working solution, the problem becomes much easier (even if you're not copying anything). It is certainly difficult to argue that students who saw it, even if briefly and without malicious intent, didn't have an unfair advantage.
– osuka_
4 hours ago
For programming assignments such as this, sometimes it is hard to come up with a new solution - but once you've seen and understood a working solution, the problem becomes much easier (even if you're not copying anything). It is certainly difficult to argue that students who saw it, even if briefly and without malicious intent, didn't have an unfair advantage.
– osuka_
4 hours ago
For programming assignments such as this, sometimes it is hard to come up with a new solution - but once you've seen and understood a working solution, the problem becomes much easier (even if you're not copying anything). It is certainly difficult to argue that students who saw it, even if briefly and without malicious intent, didn't have an unfair advantage.
– osuka_
4 hours ago
add a comment |
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Yeah just give the solutions to everyone to be fair. Too late to change grading and requirements. But hopefully you are curving the grade so the effect is nothing.
– A Simple Algorithm
7 hours ago
7
@ASimpleAlgorithm "hopefully you are curving the grade" I am not convinced grading on a curve is necessarily better.
– Davidmh
6 hours ago
1
This is something you need to be discussing with whoever's in charge of teaching in your department, not random strangers on the internet.
– David Richerby
6 hours ago
2
@Davidmh Are you speaking generally about curving, or about its value in this particular case? Because my statement was in regard to the benefits of curving in this particular case. By giving out the answers so everyone gains equally, no one gains an advantage in the curve. As for general complaints about curving, I probably don't curve in a way that has the drawbacks you are thinking of.
– A Simple Algorithm
6 hours ago
1
What does your school's academic honesty policy say about using the solution? Just because it was made available doesn't necessarily make it fair game for anyone who found it. (This doesn't help redress the situation for students who didn't use the solution, or help you determine which ones did, of course.)
– chepner
2 hours ago