Learning Objectives
The learning objectives outline the tasks you should be able to complete in preparation for the exam. They are not part of the problem set assignment. There is nothing to submit for a grade, but it is highly recommended that you use the learning objectives to test your knowledge as you study. Each exam question will test a learning objective skill.
Checklist
Use the checklists to make sure you are completing all the required work for the unit.
Reading
Each unit will have a reading assignment from the textbook that gives background information needed for completing the problem set assignments.
Problem Set
The problem sets will be accessed through the Problem Set Tab in each Unit Channel within Class Teams. The problem sets will allow you to engage with the science and develop an understanding of the material; the problem sets will lead you in the right direction for answering the discussion prompts.
Use the problem sets to help you form answers for the discussion forum. Exams will cover the problem set material
Discussion
Questions related to the problem set material will be posted as prompts for each weekly discussion. Each student will generate a response to the prompt questions. Acceptable responses will require that you have gone through the entire problem set. After posting the initial response, you will be able to view responses posted by teammates, and you will then post replies to at least two teammates.
The discussion grade is going to be based on a rubric that measures both content – correct information, citations, grammar, conciseness, clarity – and teamwork – positive attitude, good listening, reliability. Your posts need to reflect that you have thought about the topic in order to receive points.
Initial posts are due by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday of each week (excluding exam weeks). Replies to at least two teammates are due by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Thursday of each week. Replies should be original viewpoints. Posts such as, “Yeah, I had that question, too,” “I agree with the last post,” or posts not about the problem set content will not earn you points. Review the “Discussion Forum Expectations” document in the Begin Here! module for more detailed information.
One discussion post and one pair of discussion replies will be dropped from the final grade.
Answer Videos
The answer videos will go over the answers to the problem sets and discussion prompts. Make sure to follow along and use the feedback in the review videos to correct your answers.
IMPORTANT: Correcting your misunderstandings is crucial to success in the course. This is your opportunity to correct your assignment answers to prepare for the exam.
Content Questions Forum
Each unit will also have a content questions discussion forum for students to ask (and answer!) questions about the problem set questions directly. If you have a question about the material, most likely someone else does too, so the help forum is there to provide assistance to everyone. Post your questions, but make sure you are specific:
- What problem set question are you referring to?
- What do you understand about the question?
- Where do you need help?
Students are highly encouraged to jump in an answer questions in the help forum. Although participation in the help forum is not required, by answering questions posted by others you are
- Solidifying the content for your own learning
- Helping to build our learning community
Exams
Exams will cover the content found in the problem sets and the discussion prompts (and indirectly through these assignments, the reading material). They will be multiple choice and short answers and will be available for 2 days on the dates listed from 12:00 am on day 1 to 11:59 pm on day 2 (Eastern Time Zone). Everyone will be able to take the exams regardless of the content that has been submitted prior.
I strongly encourage students to start the exam early enough to fully complete the test prior to the exam closing time at 11:59 pm. If you are working on the exam after 11:59 pm, and an error within D2L occurs that could normally be solved with a simple browser refresh, you will not be able to reenter the exam due to the end time having passed.
Exams will be available on Sunday and Monday.
Exam Corrections
For each exam, I will allow corrections to be submitted if the exam was attempted. For each question you get incorrect,
- Explain why you chose the answer you did. What was your thought process? This is important for me to know, so I can figure out where/how/why misconceptions are occurring. If you didn’t understand something about the question, tell me here. It would help me most if you answered this prior to moving on to steps 2 and 3, to get the most accurate answer without the correct answer affecting your recollection.
- Give the correct answer.
- Explain why that answer is right instead of the one you chose. Cite course materials (not Google searches) in addition to your explanation. Writing “Unit 2 Question 6” is not a sufficient explanation. Explain why “Unit 2 Question 6” proves your new answer to be correct. This is your opportunity to demonstrate understanding of the concept. If the explanation is not sufficient, points will not be awarded.
For each question you correct properly and give explanations for, you will get back the points you lost. If you do not provide the 3 required pieces of information, you will not receive credit for the question. All course materials can be used during corrections. This assignment is optional.
Due Dates
Assignments are due by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the date listed.
Academic Responsibility
It is the responsibility of each student to generate original work for all assignments. This means all submitted work must be in your own words. Plagiarizing from any of, but not limited to, the internet, readings, videos, popular press articles, other students, and/or research articles is grounds for receiving a zero for that assignment. IMPORTANT: This means that even though you are working in teams, the work you submit must be in your own words. Please see Course Policies for more information.
Tutoring / Homework Website Usage
Students may not post recordings or other course materials online or distribute them to anyone not enrolled in the class without the advance written permission of the course instructor and, if applicable, any students whose voice or image is included in the recordings. All course materials presented to students are the copyrighted property of the course instructor. Please see Course Policies for more information.