Abstract
A Comparison of Student Learning Between Graded Homework and Suggested ProblemsThis paper examines the impact of assigning graded homework problems versus providingsuggested problems on student exam performance in an introductory fluid mechanics course.Students at two different universities had specific chapters from the textbook for which gradedhomework was assigned and other chapters for which suggested problems were provided.Solutions to both the graded and suggested problems were provided roughly one week after theywere assigned. Student performance on quiz and exam questions was then analyzed to determineif one mode of problem assignment resulted in increased learning. A weekly survey was used todetermine the number of hours students applied to each problem assignment. It was found thatstudents spent on average one extra hour on a graded homework assignment than suggestedproblems. Interestingly there was no significant difference in exam performance on questionswhich related to suggested homework problems than questions related to graded homeworkproblems. The paper further relates these results to course design and discusses the implicationsfor academic misconduct and student perception of learning.