Information on Groups, Homework and Grading

1. A significant portion of work required by this course is to be done in groups. This covers group homework problems and peer-grading. Every student will be part of some group and must actively contribute to group activities.

2. There will be nine groups, each consisting of 3 or 4 students. Before September 16, the groups can be made up voluntarily; afterwards the remaining memberships will be assigned by Dr. Saunders.

3. It is up to each group to organize themselves for the purpose of solving group problems. The only requirement is that all members of the group must be actively and fully involved in working on the solution. Most emphatically, it IS NOT THE CASE that the group simply assigns one member to solve the first group problem, another to solve the second, etc. ALL group members must work equally hard on ALL problems.

4. The group will hand in one solution to each group problem, labelled by the problem number, the group number and the names of the group members. The grade eventually assigned to that solution will be given to each member of the group.

5. Twice during the semester (just past the middle and at the end) group members will be asked to evaluate each other member of the group, and themselves, on their performance as a member of the group. These evaluations will be the major factor in the Group Participation portion of the course grade.

1. Each solution must be submitted on a separate sheet of paper. Label each solution with your name, problem number and date. If one solution covers more than one sheet, please staple the sheets together and put your name on each sheet. You need to hand in five (5) copies of each solution (the original and 4 xerox copies).

Exception: If your group is assigned to grade a problem then you (for individual problems) or your group (for group problems) should hand in only one copy of the solution. That single copy will be given to the TA, who will grade those solutions.

2. Be kind to your fellow students. Write legibly and neatly. Avoid excess verbosity: clear writing makes it easier for graders to understand the mechanics of your solution and improves your chances for a good grade.

3. Late homework will be graded only with the prior permission of Dr. Saunders.

4. If you have any questions about how your homework was graded see Dr. Saunders. DO NOT under any circumstances go to see the students who actually did the grading.

1. Each group will be assigned the responsibility of grading and writing a solution for 2 homework problems: one individual problem and one group problem. For both types of problems the grading procedure will be the same, and is described below.

2. The group should pick up ungraded homework solutions (except their own) after class on the day that they are due.

3. Within four working days of picking up the solutions, the group should:

• distribute one copy of each solution to each member of the group. Assuming there are four members in the group, this will leave one copy of each solution that is not distributed. In what follows we will call this the master copy, and it should simply be held by one of the group members until it is needed.

• have a meeting to develop a draft model solution to the problem, along with a proposed grading scheme. If your model solution makes use of a solution handed in by some member of the class, then your solution should acknowledge that person. Here are a few guidelines for developing a grading scheme:

• Above all else, the grade should reflect the degree to which the individual/group solved (or did not solve) the problem.
• Try to partition the problem into sections. Note the main ideas or method required in each. Assign a number of points to each section.
• How well does the individual/group understand the issues addressed in the problem? Do not penalize too much for small errors unless they make the answer unreasonable.
• Clearly mark where points are deducted and carefully explain why those points were deducted. This is VERY important -- the individual/group needs to understand WHY points were deducted.
• Give a (+) grade for unusually elegant solutions.
• Solutions that display no real understanding of, or insights into, the problem should receive a 0 (zero). Grades should not be given on the basis of effort.

• have a meeting with the TA (all members of the group should attend) to discuss the model solution and the grading scheme. IMPORTANT: at least one working day prior to the meeting you must provide the TA with a hard copy of the draft model solution and the proposed grading scheme.

4. Following the meeting with the TA, each member of the group should grade each solution. This grading must be done independently.

5. Have a meeting to complete the grading. This will be a long meeting and all members of the group must be present. Completing the grading should be done by discussing each paper individually, and reaching a consensus on the grade that should be assigned and the comments that explain that grade. The grade and comments should be placed on the Master Copy of the solution. The comments should be thorough in pointing out difficulties with the solution and explaining why and where points are deducted.

6. No later than 9 working days after picking up the solutions the group should:

• Turn in to Dr. Saunders a list of the grades for that problem (in alphabetical order if an individual problem, or by group number if a group problem)
• Turn in the graded solutions to Dr. Saunders, with a grade (0-10) given on the front page of each. You must provide these graded problems in two stacks: one stack containing the Master Copy of each solution, and one stack containing the other four copies of each solution. These other four copies (where you did your individual grading) should be stapled or paperclipped together.
• Typeset the model solution and email to Dr. Saunders the Postscript file containing the solution to the problem. The preferred typesetting system is LaTeX. A special style file will be provided by the TA to facilitate typesetting. Other word processors will be accepted.