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> One problem is that some students cheat. They develop and pass around open-source sets of answers. If the problems don't change, then students don't learn as

> One problem is that some students cheat. They develop and pass around open-source sets of answers. If the problems don't change, then students don't learn as well. The solution to that is to not revise the textbook, it's to pass out different homework handouts each semester. IMHO, the textbook problems sets should be for student practice and all the solutions should be in the back of the book (vs. just the odds).

cmdrfred 9y ago
>pass out different homework handouts each semester. That sounds like work, we are talking about academia here.
- JustSomeNobody 9y ago
  How often does Calculus change? Over the course of a few years, one could develop enough homework problems to start rotating them out each semester.
- kesselvon 9y ago
  It's not like they write those problems. They have auto generators now, go to Khan Academy or WA and it'll spit out all the calculus problems you want
  - germinalphrase 9y ago
    I believe that auto-generation of homework/assessment elements (or the maintenance of a large corpus of previously developed assessment elements that can be curated at will) should be ubiquitous in all subject areas. Mathematics is clearly the easiest and should be available now to everyone. I suspect, however, that academic publishers would attempt to sue the pants off anyone that built such a service if it relied on user submissions of content (e.g. a professor uploads their homework assignments to the library of content and that content can be utilized by anyone else on the system).
  - wolfgke 9y ago
    > and it'll spit out all the calculus problems you want Better look into old Russian textbooks for interesting (often very hard) calculus problems.
Jtsummers 9y ago
A better solution is to reevaluate your evaluation scheme. If homework solutions become available then homework answers can't be trusted as a measure of understanding. You need exams, essays, and projects. Homework should be left as a tool to develop understanding and measure progress, but not for final grades.
- Chaebixi 9y ago
  That's true. However, in all the university classes with graded homework that I took, the homework only counted for a small fraction of the final grade (usually <=10%). I think it was only "graded" to give the less-motivated students a more straightforward incentive to do it, and encourage more consistent engagement with the course content.
  - Jtsummers 9y ago
    Same for me, which is another reason, though, to not worry about cheating on homework. Cheating on tests, yes, but homework, with it counting 10-15%, only means the difference between one grade level, at most. And a failing student would only move to a C or D.

cmdrfred 9y ago

>pass out different homework handouts each semester. That sounds like work, we are talking about academia here.

JustSomeNobody 9y ago
How often does Calculus change? Over the course of a few years, one could develop enough homework problems to start rotating them out each semester.
kesselvon 9y ago
It's not like they write those problems. They have auto generators now, go to Khan Academy or WA and it'll spit out all the calculus problems you want
- germinalphrase 9y ago
  I believe that auto-generation of homework/assessment elements (or the maintenance of a large corpus of previously developed assessment elements that can be curated at will) should be ubiquitous in all subject areas. Mathematics is clearly the easiest and should be available now to everyone. I suspect, however, that academic publishers would attempt to sue the pants off anyone that built such a service if it relied on user submissions of content (e.g. a professor uploads their homework assignments to the library of content and that content can be utilized by anyone else on the system).
- wolfgke 9y ago
  > and it'll spit out all the calculus problems you want Better look into old Russian textbooks for interesting (often very hard) calculus problems.

Jtsummers 9y ago

A better solution is to reevaluate your evaluation scheme. If homework solutions become available then homework answers can't be trusted as a measure of understanding. You need exams, essays, and projects. Homework should be left as a tool to develop understanding and measure progress, but not for final grades.

Chaebixi 9y ago
That's true. However, in all the university classes with graded homework that I took, the homework only counted for a small fraction of the final grade (usually <=10%). I think it was only "graded" to give the less-motivated students a more straightforward incentive to do it, and encourage more consistent engagement with the course content.
- Jtsummers 9y ago
  Same for me, which is another reason, though, to not worry about cheating on homework. Cheating on tests, yes, but homework, with it counting 10-15%, only means the difference between one grade level, at most. And a failing student would only move to a C or D.