Physics! Blog!
exam
All-year Goal-less Problems for Physics Class
So. Josh* took my Honors Physics exam review activity and expanded it into something bigger and better. As I was reading his post, though, I started thinking about my regular physics classes. They would really like something like that. Of course, I also had to make it my own. I am curating a set of … Continue reading
Choose Your Test Flavor
After a recent Global Physics Department meeting about Standards-Based Grading (SBG), I got to thinking about how I would adapt my grading scheme if I taught more than 40 or 50 students per year (which many of the teachers at the meeting were/are doing). One idea that I had was about doing more of the … Continue reading
Conjunctive Standards-Based Grading
I’ve had a lot of requests lately to explain my grading system, so I thought I would outline it in as much detail as possible here. I learned this summer that what I do is apparently called “conjunctive scoring”. That is, students cannot compensate for a low score in one area (say, their understanding of forces) … Continue reading
Physics Exam Review: Recitation Problems
My Honors Physics exam is a Big Deal. Most of my students do their best work of the semester, and the test itself is the most difficult they’ve seen. It is their final opportunity to demonstrate mastery, depth of understanding, and creative thinking. The final preparation for this test is therefore very important. For the … Continue reading
SBG & Semester Exams
I teach physics and grade with a standards-based grading system. We’ve been formatively assessing (and reassessing) all semester. In my view, the purpose of a summative assessment like the semester exam is to show (a) sustained mastery of the skills taught in the class and (b) synthesis and depth of understanding (that is, knowing both … Continue reading
