Physics 20x | Homework |
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In this class there are three activities associated with each lecture that would constitute traditional homework: pre-lecture, post-lecture, and challenge homework. They represent a progression of your knowledge and skill building around each topic. It is important to do each homework in the order they are presented as one builds off the previous. For quick access to all study and assignments check out the course calendar.
The biggest issue we see with students who struggle is that they have not followed the suggested progression of learning or have skipped parts along the way. Every hole you create in your knowledge has the potential to snowball as physics is inherently an accumulative knowledge that builds off previous ideas. We learn by doing, so the majority of your time learning will be spent doing these homework assignments. Doing them in order will make the most efficient use of your time.
We also see students struggle unnecessarily because they do not reach out for help. Some struggle is important, nobody learns from a position of comfort, but if you have been spinning your wheels for too long, you need to reach out. Fortunately we have unprecedented synchronous and asynchronous support services found on the class Support page.
Pre-lecture
Pre-lecture homework is part of the familiarize stage of learning and should be done immediately after studying the pre-lecture videos and reading but before performing the lecture. These questions are intended to work on skills low on Bloom's taxonomy, like identify and differentiate. The questions are delivered through Canvas quizzing. Each correct answer will receive 1 point. Pre-lecture questions for the first lecture of the week are due the Sunday before the week begins. You can find links to the pre-lecture homework on the course calendar.
Post-lecture
Post-lecture homework is the main practice stage of the learning cycle. It should be done as soon as possible after the foundational lecture stage. These problems work on skills throughout Bloom's taxonomy but focus on those in the middle such as explain, prioritize, analyze, and solve. The questions are delivered through Canvas quizzing just like the pre-lecture homework but problems can be worth 1 or 2 points depending on the difficulty. The pre and post-lecture homeworks combined will constitute 5% of your overall grade. All post-lecture homework for a given week are due the Sunday after that week. You can find the links to post-lecture homework on the course calendar.
Additional Practice Problems
There are additional practice problems to supplement your learning. These are not for credit, but going and practicing these problems have been correlated with higher grades in the course. Practicing problems is how we learn physics. Find these problems through the BoxSand menu on the right. They are under the lecture for a given topic. There you will see drop down tabs under Practice filled with problems to practice, including many from past exams.
Challenge Homework
The final learning stage before assessment is the mastery stage. Challenge homework is meant to push your knowledge. It will involve analyzing systems that appear under-determined or vastly complex. You will have to synthesize multiple concepts into a single coherent analysis. It will challenge you and you will probably need to reach out for help. It will make you stronger. While these are to prepare you for the more challenging portions of the exams, the level of difficulty and scope may sometimes be above the level expected on exams. These assignments are also designed to help you practice organizing well presented solutions. These questions are graded by a human and are entirely based on partial credit. The answer is worth far less than the logic and reasoning used to arrive at the answer. See the Exams page on the syllaubs for more information about what is expected for a complete solution. Solutions are to be written by hand on paper or digital tablet, or formatted using math-type software like Latex or Microsoft Equation Editor. Solutions are to be your own, even if you work others analyzing the problem. See the Code of Conduct for information about plagiarism. A digital copy of your work must be submitted to Gradescope.com by the due date. If you work on a piece of paper, a picture from your phone works well for a digital copy. For information about setting up Gradescope, check out the Learning Tools page found on the course homepage. Challenge Homework problems for a given week are due Tuesday of the following week.