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Weekly Quizzes

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Photo: Ron Batzdorff / NBC.

Each course module will have two types of quizzes:

  1. Quizzes embedded into my Panopto videos, and
  2. Module quizzes posted on UB Learns.

Here are 7 things to know for this quizzes:

  1. Here’s What I Want You to Do
  2. Here’s Why I Want You to Do It
  3. Here’s How to Do It
  4. Here’s How It Will Be Graded
  5. 36-Hour Grace Period
  6. Using Free Passes
  7. Collaboration & Academic Integrity
Students sitting around a table.

Photo: Justin Lubin / NBC.

Here’s What I Want You to Do

As you are watching my Panopto videos for a module, occasionally the video will pause and you will have to complete a multiple-choice problem. Take your time, as needed, to carefully respond. Once you have done that, you should then be able to continue watching the video.

Meanwhile, each module also has a separate quiz posted on UB Learns. These module quizzes consist of an honor agreement and 5 multiple-choice problems. Each problem will appear one at a time, and once you have completed a problem you cannot go back later to change your response. Once you begin a module quiz, you have 15 minutes to finish it. If you stop, you cannot restart. (One minute per multiple-choice problem is standard for college-level quizzes. I am giving you a little extra time, so you may consult your notes during the quiz.)

If you have any technical difficulties with any quiz, let me know immediately! I will gladly go into UB Learns and try to fix things for you.

Woman holding out boxing gloves.

Photo: Colleen Hayes / NBC.

Here’s Why I Want You to Do It

The weekly quizzes act as the starting point on your path towards the first three learning outcomes for this course:

  1. Identify and employ common terminology for philosophical approaches to ethics,
  2. Explain and summarize important arguments within philosophical texts, and
  3. Apply important ethical concepts and theories to various hypothetical and real-world situations.

So you can expect to see problems that involve definitions, summarizing basic points, and doing simple applications.

In addition, the Panopto video quizzes will also help you pay attention while checking your understanding of the material as it is presented. Meanwhile, the module quizzes will assess your basic understanding of the material presented in the Panopto videos and in the posted readings.

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Photo: Colleen Hayes / NBC.

Here’s How to Do It

Each module includes reading questions that will help you identify important points and ideas in the texts. So as you are reading, I highly encourage you to take simple notes that attempt to answer (or at least sketch out an answer to) those reading questions. If convenient, you might consider printing out the reading and writing your answers directly on the text itself.

After that, as you are watching the Panopto videos, I encourage you to take notes as you would do in any regular, face-to-face course. However, do not feel like you must write down on literally everything they cover. Just try to capture their main points, such as definitions, premises and conclusions to arguments, and any applications of course conceptions. You should also note anything else that helps you answer those reading questions.

All quizzes are open note, open book, and open video—so taking notes is a great way to prepare yourself for success!

If you take notes in these ways, then the quizzes should be pretty straightforward. You will immediately know the solutions to quiz problems, or, at least, know where to quickly find those solutions. Of course, some problems may still challenge you, but I do not intend for any of them to trick you!

A woman makes a toast.

Photo: Justin Lubin / NBC.

Here’s How It Will Be Graded

Unless I say otherwise, each Panopto video will be worth a total of 10 points, where each problem in that video counts equally towards that 10 points.

Again, unless I say otherwise, each module quiz will be worth a total of 50 points. Each problem on a module quiz is scored in the following way:

  • Each correct response earns 10 points,
  • Each incorrect response earns 0 points, and
  • Each response of “I don't know” earns 2 points.

I award points in this way to discourage random guessing on the module quizzes. It also highlights problems that I may need to reassess.

In any case, you will notice that Panopto video quizzes are worth significantly fewer points than the more comprehensive module quizzes. This is because I expect a lot of incorrect responses with the video quizzes—hey, doing something for the first time can be tough! Make those mistakes, learn from them, and do not stress that your overall grade is being destroyed in the process.

Now each week, I will…

  1. Take your total number of points on all these quizzes for that week,
  2. Divide that number by the total number of possible points, and
  3. Normalize this ratio to the 100-point grading scale.

That will determine your quiz grade for that week. There are 14 weeks of modules, so you will have a total of 14 weekly quiz grades in this course.

A couple things to note about that:

  • When I normalize raw scores into weekly quiz grades, I take into consideration any patterns of systematically incorrect responses. I then discount the value of those problems and try to fix them for future classes.
  • Trying to “fix” problems sometimes accidentally creates more mistakes. So if you think there is a problem with a quiz problem, let me know! In fact, if I correct a mistake you identify, I’ll give you a small bump of extra credit to your participation grade. Boo-ya.

Finally, at the end of the semester, I will automatically drop three of your quiz grades:

  • Your lowest weekly quiz grade from weeks 1 through 4 is automatically dropped,
  • Your lowest weekly quiz grade from weeks 5 through 9 is automatically dropped, and
  • Your lowest weekly quiz grade from weeks 10 through 15 is automatically dropped.

Your overall/final weekly quiz grade will be determined by taking the average of the remaining 11 weekly quiz grades.

You heard right: I will automatically drop three of your weekly quiz grades when calculating your overall/final weekly quiz grade.

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Photo: Colleen Hayes / NBC.

36-Hour Grace Period

All quizzes have an automatic 36-hour grace period. This means that you are free to finish any quiz up to 36 hours after its posted due date/time without penalty. In short, all quizzes have an automatic 36-hour extension.

A gift is given.

Photo: Colleen Hayes / NBC.

Using Free Passes

You may use 1 free pass for an extra 48-hour extension for completing a set of weekly quizzes. Please note that this is in addition to the automatic 36-hour grace period.

You may use 2 free passes to drop your lowest weekly quiz grade. You may use 4 passes to drop your lowest 2 weekly quiz grades. You may use 6 to drop your lowest 3. In any of those cases, the quiz(zes) dropped would be in addition to the lowest weekly quiz grades automatically dropped at the end of the semester.

A man walks down the street with a golden challice.

Photo: Colleen Hayes / NBC.

Collaboration & Academic Integrity

Since the quizzes are meant to assess your progress through the course modules and the extent to which you are achieving learning outcomes, I expect you to do all quizzes on your own. Naturally, I also expect that you are not helping others with these quizzes either. If anyone does ask you for help, just send them to me. I’ll gladly assist them.

In short, all quizzes are closed to collaboration. Furthermore, please do not try to find solutions to the problems online.

Please remember that quizzes are not group assignments. Let me know if you are struggling and I’ll gladly help!