Grading sends a direct message to students about what is expected in class. However, often there is a gap between the assigned grade and the goals of the instructor. In an interview study of faculty teaching calculus-based introductory physics, we verified that this gap exists and identified three themes that appear to shape grading decisions: (1) a desire to see student reasoning, (2) a reluctance to deduct points from a student solution that might be correct, and (3) a tendency to project correct thought processes onto a student solution. When all three themes were expressed by an instructor, the resulting conflict was resolved by placing the burden of proof on either the instructor or the student. The weighting of the themes with the burden of proof criterion explains our finding that although almost all instructors reported telling students to show their reasoning in problem solutions, about half graded problem solutions in a way that would likely discourage students from showing this reasoning.
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February 2004
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February 01 2004
Grading student problem solutions: The challenge of sending a consistent message
Charles Henderson;
Charles Henderson
Department of Physics, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008-5252
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Edit Yerushalmi;
Edit Yerushalmi
Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel 76100
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Vince H. Kuo;
Vince H. Kuo
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street, SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
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Patricia Heller;
Patricia Heller
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Minnesota, 159 Pillsbury Drive, SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
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Kenneth Heller
Kenneth Heller
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street, SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
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Am. J. Phys. 72, 164–169 (2004)
Article history
Received:
February 12 2003
Accepted:
October 24 2003
Citation
Charles Henderson, Edit Yerushalmi, Vince H. Kuo, Patricia Heller, Kenneth Heller; Grading student problem solutions: The challenge of sending a consistent message. Am. J. Phys. 1 February 2004; 72 (2): 164–169. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1634963
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