Assessment
The general approach I hope to use is outlined in this paper [PDF] by D.J.C. Mackay.
The assessment on work for my lessons is based not on correctness but on effort. The reasons are several. First, it would be absurd to grade on correctness since being wrong in physics is good for learning. Second, effort is something over which you have full control, whereas correctness is much harder to control. I therefore want to remove any anxiety based on the thought, Did I get it
right or will I get slapped down with a bad grade?
It interferes with learning a useful and enjoyable subject.
Homework problems
A rough guide as to how the marks are given is as follows:
| 6 | Average | will be given for work which is of a satisfactory, acceptable standard; if you get less than 6 you must improve the standard at once! |
| 7-8 | Good | will be given e.g. when a lot of effort has obviously been put into the work or when the work is very clearly set out. |
| 9+ | Excellent | This effort grade will rarely be given: to get this mark the work must demonstrate great effort and real clarity. |
If a question has one or a number of * before it then it contains points which are inherently difficult and which will be met more generally in subsequent years.
To make a reasonable effort on the homeworks, give a coherent one- or two-sentence explanation or reasoning for each problem. If you cannot solve a problem in a reasonable time (I don't want you to lose sleep!), don't worry: Make a guess and use the explanation box for the basis of your guess. If you solve a problem, use the explanation for what John Wheeler recommended: Write down what you could tell your earlier self in order to make finding the solution smooth sailing. By the exam you will have built a library of useful problem-solving ideas.
Feedback
As far as possible, the work will be returned with annotations to show which parts are substantially correct, and indicate where errors have crept in, or how to approach an answer. It is hoped that these will prove useful, and any additional clarification needed can be sought in office hours.
Sometimes, solutions will be provided to question sheets, which may provide additional insight, show how to set out examination-style questions, or provide alternative methods of solving the questions. However please note that to find out whether you understand the solution of the problem, you need to try to solve the problem by yourself without refering to the solution. Only if you can solve the problem do you understand the solution.
Feedback for me!
Please feel free to give me some feedback on the questions (or the lessons) as we go along. I aim to make the problems interesting, useful, quite difficult, a good test of understanding, allowing opportunities to demonstrate learning, and also develop and consolidate knowledge outside of lessons, giving room for problem solving, with some open-ended tasks. Let me know when I fall short of these goals for you! Also, I should be particularly grateful if you could email me if you spot typographical or factual errors, unanswerable questions or mistakes, as this will allow corrections to be made and might save everyone a lot of time.
Self-assessment
It is hoped that you will get better and better at self-assessment as the course continues. This is an essential skill for independent learning and for life. Only you know whether you understand the material; there are many problems in the textbook and online which you can use to test and improve your understanding.
Mock exams / exam questions
Unfortunately, there are public examinations in physics for which we are preparing you, and so occasionally I will give you feedback based on marking against AQA mark schemes. You should use this contructively as self-evaluation (and I should encourage you to self-assess by marking your work in this way).
Practicals
For each of the practicals, I am going to make up a mark scheme which is similar in style to the old practical exam scheme. This will give you good self-assessment on how you are doing picking up skills which you will find useful in the ISA.
