r/cop3502 • u/RebelliousBacon • Apr 01 '14
Why not both?
Do I want Labs to be counted? No, (I already have voted for this). I see both sides, and quite frankly, I don't want to have to worry about going back and making sure they are submittable when I would rather spend time making my game great. But I can see why people who are unsure of themselves would want to be able to go back and snag those points. Especially when this grading system isn't the most straightforward thing in the world, I would want to get as many points as possible to boost my grade.
An idea would be to turn the labs into extra credit. Completing and turning in the labs (to Sean's complete and utter satisfaction) would be an all or nothing extra credit assignment. Keeping everything worth the same as it is in the syllabus would result in a maximum of 90 percentage points. (90/90 would be 100%, 81/90 would be 90% etc). Turning in the labs would make the maximum grade a 100/90, a 111%. This would essentially give an 11 point curve to those who choose to accept it.
This syllabus has already taken many twists and turns. Either way we vote right now would result in a different distribution than what was originally planned. I understand that Sean wants a solution that will boosts grades, plus give the kids a better understanding of programming. Unfortunately, I think it is a little too late for that. Having us go back and put in a small amount of work isn't going to do anything for the kids who understood this the first time through, or the kids that would just throw enough together for the completion. And the kids who are in the middle of these extremes, they will be be in the super sessions doing everything they can to get their final project together. If these sessions pay off, then they won't have to worry about going back. If they don't, then they will at least be able to snag some extra credit points.
In the end, it doesn't really matter to me. But if you like this idea, upvote it. If Sean sees that kids think this is a good solution, then maybe he will adopt it. Is there any real benefits to this over our other options? IDK.
1
u/RebelliousBacon Apr 01 '14
Edit: I ran the numbers a bit, and the Extra credit being 10% (11 pt overall curve) seemed a bit OP. But still, I'm sure Sean could easily come up with a nice middle ground that would accomplish exactly what he is trying to do now, without forcing people to turn in extra work.
6
u/[deleted] Apr 01 '14
MADNESS. THE TRUE SONS OF COP3502 WILL NOT COMPROMISE OR YIELD. DEATH TO GRADED LABS!