Revisiting Past Assignments: Do Precalculus Students Learn More from Revising or Discussing Their Work?

Abstract

In introductory math courses such as precalculus, students often have difficulty with assignments that require explanations or synthesizing knowledge. When students receive low scores on such assignments, instructors often wish to help students understand the material they struggled with. A common strategy is to allow the students to revise and resubmit the assignment. In a study of a precalculus course, I investigate the effects on learning and confidence of two strategies: allowing homework revisions and offering extra points for meeting with the instructor to discuss the assignment. The data indicate that discussions appeared to have the greatest effect on quiz scores and confidence, although both strategies were beneficial when compared to using neither strategy. In addition, this article looks at student perceptions of the strategies.

Keywords:

• Writing
• homework
• revision
• resubmission
• office hours
• discussion
• writing in mathematics
• precalculus

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

R. Epstein

R. Epstein earned her PhD in Mathematics from the University of Chicago. Her interests include inquiry-based learning, inclusive classroom practices, alternate grading methods such as standards-based grading, computability theory, reading science fiction, and cats.