Due Sunday, October 16

Homework performance for this class has been somewhat… uneven. Don’t forget: the point of doing homework is to hone your problem solving skills and your communication skills.

Especially for a class like ours, homework should not be rushed. You need to give your brain a chance to think about what a problem is asking and time to struggle to find a solution. One of the best ways to check that you’ve understood a problem is to write a formal solution, put it away for at least one day, and then read it again later to see if it still makes sense. One of the best ways to check that you’ve communicated your understanding is to have someone else read your work. This isn’t something that can be done the night before a deadline.

For this assignment, you will review each other’s work for Homework 3. You will exchange the Homework 3 you had intended to hand in with a classmate. When you have received your classmate’s work do the following:

Step 1

  1. Read one of their solutions very slowly and deliberately.
  2. As you read, consider the following questions
    1. Was the problem number indicated clearly?
    2. Was the problem stated clearly? Was it clear what the goal was?
    3. Was there a(t least one) diagram that was large, neat, and labeled clearly?
    4. Was it obvious how the work was organized?
    5. Did each step follow from the previous one?
    6. Was each claim supported by a result from class or a result that had been proved previously? Was this justification stated clearly?
    7. Did the work support the conclusion and was the conclusion stated clearly?
    8. Did the work make sense to you and were you able to understand it by reading it once?
    9. Is the work correct?
    10. If the question was an if-and-only-if proof, were the two directions separated and proved clearly?
  3. Annotate your classmate’s work with your comments, questions, suggestions based on the above questions
  4. Score the problem yourself out of 5 points; use this rough rubric:
    1. something is written, but it is not clear how it answers the question
    2. correct and relevant statements are made, but the big picture is missing, incorrect, or unclear
    3. the big picture is present, but errors are present or the work is not clear
    4. the work is mostly correct and understandable, but there is one error or gap or part where the justification is unclear
    5. the work is correct and understandable
  5. Now do the same for the remaining questions on your classmate’s assignment. Assign an overall grade out of 25.

Step 2

Write a short report summarizing what you thought of your classmate’s work. What part was the strongest? What part was the weakest? What part was the easiest for you to understand? What part was the hardest for you to understand? What part helped you understand your own work better and what will you change on your own Homework. 3 when you resubmit it? What are your overall suggestions for your classmate to improve their work when they resubmit Homework 3? Write a few paragraphs using complete sentences.

Step 3

Email a scan of your annotated/graded classmate’s homework and your report to your professor and your classmate. Use the subject heading [Classmate’s name]’s Homework 3 Peer Report.

Keep in mind that you want to give your classmate honest and specific feedback for improvement. Keep the your report positive, but do not limit yourself to praising their work.

You will earn participation credit for your report.