174
votes
How can I prevent students from writing answers on an assignment, then claiming I didn't see their answer?
Use placeholders
You can use
a sign or an indication that you would never use in any other circumstances (red cross, three question marks, etc.),
a short sentence ("No Answer Given", "I'm sure you ...
- 4,053
165
votes
How can I prevent students from writing answers on an assignment, then claiming I didn't see their answer?
I scan my student's assignments. There is a big printer with scanning function in our department where you can just put in the papers and it scans all of them at once.
Moreover, I do warn them ...
- 1,257
156
votes
Accepted
How to handle students who try to negotiate away penalties for late submission of coursework?
Adhere to the guidelines and syllabus you posted. If students can get around consequences of late submission by arguing, you have set a precedent, and they (and future generations of students) will ...
- 38.3k
128
votes
Accepted
Should a teacher be able to solve all the assignments they give their students themselves?
In general, yes, a teacher should know how to do any assignment and, in some cases, should have actually done it. In teaching programming, for example, it is usually a mistake to assign a problem that ...
- 399k
124
votes
First year Math PhD student; My problem solving skill has been completely atrophied and continues to decline
I think it’s not a coincidence that the timing of this decline matches up with the pandemic. A lot of people are really struggling right now, I feel like I can’t do math as well as I could a year ago....
- 33.2k
120
votes
Accepted
Accidentally leaked the solution to an assignment, what to do now? (I'm the prof)
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 ...
- 399k
115
votes
Accepted
Students using the same flawed online solution sheet as the grading TA
If the online sheet is incorrect and you suffered because of it, and if you have proof that the TA used that sheet, then you should point out to the professor of the course what has happened.
But, ...
- 399k
102
votes
What should I do if I did someone else's homework a few years ago?
Assuming this was several years ago and not a continuing pattern, the fact that you raise the question suggests you have learned something in the interim.
You should do precisely nothing about the old ...
- 399k
96
votes
How to handle a student who will not accept that he is wrong?
Should I just tell him to talk to the instructor, and that my job is just marking?
Yes. There's no point in getting into an extended argument with this student. The student thought his answers were ...
- 37.8k
96
votes
Instructor listening in secretly in simulated intake assignment -- allowed? Ethical?
I have to side with your professor here. You did not have a private phone conversation. You had a simulated conversation with a person you knew to be a fake client with the purpose of evaluating your ...
- 8,017
96
votes
Is there a way to stop students using AI to generate essays?
AI tools such as Chat GPT are really helpful for language learners, in that they can quite reliably pick up grammatical errors and other problems, and (albeit with somewhat less accuracy) can even ...
- 73.4k
95
votes
Is it considered plagiarism when you modify your professor's proof when solving a problem in a homework assignment?
No, this bears no resemblance whatsoever to the concept of plagiarism. The goal of homework is to get you to review what you learned in class and demonstrate that you can apply it. That is exactly ...
- 202k
90
votes
Should I prepare new homework exercises each year, 20% of the final grade is homework?
The main dilemma is that the homework is part of the grades, therefore you should prepare a new one each semester.
I solved this for my programming course in a radical way (after struggling with a ...
- 13.2k
89
votes
Accepted
Nice vs. ugly numbers in homework and tests
I think I'm going to be fundamentally disagreeing with a lot of the answers here.
Nice numbers definitely make problems easier, and I make a habit of using them when first introducing a concept; they ...
- 1,696
87
votes
Accidentally leaked the solution to an assignment, what to do now? (I'm the prof)
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, ...
- 823
86
votes
What should I do if I regret paying online services for homework during my last semester of college?
Your post seems to suggest that you have learned from your mistake. Given that, I'd suggest that you let the past be the past and move on, hopefully to better acts in the future.
Returning the degree (...
- 399k
83
votes
Is it ethical to assign problem sets and not tell students which subset of problems will be graded?
While it may average out to be alright, it is very important to look at the other side and consider how a student perceives this grading practice.
Students don't tend to look at the average but on the ...
- 2,066
78
votes
Accepted
Why are exercises in US university classes graded?
Exercises are graded because if they were not graded, many students would not do them.
You are quite correct however in perceiving that this is bad. It creates an unhealthy confusion between formative ...
- 202k
69
votes
Is a professor required to provide homework solutions?
No. The professor gets to decide if it would be more beneficial for students' learning to provide full solutions, partial solutions, or no solutions to homework problems.
- 8,385
65
votes
Accepted
I’m being asked to research maths for my Python module. Is this right?
I’m being asked to research maths for my Python module
No, you are not. It sounds like you're being asked to do some elementary data analysis or data science. "Researching math" is a ...
- 73.4k
61
votes
Can I request for a change of a musical piece assigned to me due to physical discomfort?
would it be wrong of me to ask my tutor if I could do another piece of his music like Lacrimosa/Requiem or the 9th Symphony for one half of my assignment?
No, it wouldn't be unreasonable to ask and ...
- 399k
61
votes
Accepted
investigating an allegation that I may have potentially breached Code of Conduct
The following are not valid defenses for plagiarism or fraud:
You were going through a rough time with your mental health
You were the victim of a crime
You were "desperate"
The work you ...
- 73.4k
60
votes
Professor does not care about cheating, what should TA do?
I realize that the following advice may be very unsatisfying. But you may need to hear it, just to save yourself from grief. I hope it helps.
It may be that you have done all that you can do without ...
- 399k
55
votes
What to do about a student who missed multiple assignments and claims illness?
First, there may very well be policies in place to handle this, so I would check those first, in case your hands are tied in some way.
Generally speaking however, I'm fairly permissive with medical ...
- 52.4k
54
votes
Accepted
Is it ethical to cite a paper without fully understanding the math/methods, if the math is not relevant to why I am citing it?
Yes, it is ethical to cite the work of others when you don't completely understand it. You depend on the fact that it has been vetted by others; the reviewers who approved and possibly improved it.
...
- 399k
51
votes
Letting students grade their own homework
I have used a similar technique, albeit in a course for nonmajors and at a time late in my career when I was willing to acknowledge that my grading was often pretty impressionistic even when I had a ...
- 38k
51
votes
Accepted
Balancing empathy and deferring to the syllabus in teaching responsibilities
It sounds to me like you are allowing yourself to be emotionally manipulated by your students, particularly the one (who sounds super obnoxious) who told you about the promise for a luxury car from ...
- 202k
50
votes
How can I prevent students from writing answers on an assignment, then claiming I didn't see their answer?
Consider using electronic submission for weekly assignments. I have had success with asking my students to submit scanned PDFs of their handwritten homework assignments, via my college's course-...
- 2,562
49
votes
I think I may have violated academic integrity last year - what should I do?
The past is the past and cannot be undone. Whether you are ashamed or not, you need to move on. But you don't need to invite external punishment for past misdeeds that haven't harmed others.
It is ...
- 399k
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