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Resources for Programming Course TA?
cndrr asks: "I'm a Teacher's Assistant for intro to Java at my university again this fall. The last time I taught, all the TAs had students turn in their assignments through email. I'm thinking about scripting a site that will let students turn in their programs automatically and in some cases, run the program and (based on the output) automatically grade it. Has anyone else TAed and found a good solution that they would recommend?"
You'll waste as much time setting up and tweaking the system as you will doing it manually. Automatic submission and sorting into folders by course section is simple enough, but running the program and automatically grading the output??? That's madness.
Besides, trying to distance yourself from your students as much as possible by using technology is the exact opposite of what teaching is supposed to be about. If the students know that a real human will be reading the output and providing constructive feedback, they're much more likely to take it seriously.
Are you sure it's a good idea to let students execute arbitrary code on your unattended machine?
I mean, I know *I* would get ideas...
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
I had a class last fall in which the prof used an automatic grader. He had a couple page document describe all the nit-picky formatting requirements we had to follow so that his automatic grader could run it. And, if we missed even a signle req, we got docked for it (generally in multiples of 10% of the assignment). Many people scored below-average to failing on their first couple of assignments because of this system, even though their code was flawless. So, please, please don't use automatic graders. They're more trouble than their worth, and you students will appreciate and specific comments you give. Even if it runs perfectly, comments can still sometimes be useful to make it even better.
How about doing your job instead? Automated turn in is fine, automated grading is bullshit and a perversion of academic principles.
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley
Automatic grading is unethical.
We have an automated submission system that requires the program to compile for subnission. It also has the capacity to run the program and check its output (command line stuff only). It also ensures that the work is turned in on time and that it contains all of the files required (unless of course we are given an assignment giving us free reign on the class structure etc.) Though, the TA does go through all of the code levaing coments where appropriate and those comments have been a massive help. Overall I like my end of the system, and I can see how it could be likede on the TA's end. With those considerations, if you believe that you wouldn't waste more time setting a system up than you would save with it ,I would go for it.
1) At least one student will either be lazy or make repeated mistakes trying to get their submission into the correct format. Because you are the TA and have no power, students will complain to you and demand that you make a special exception for their code. You'll find yourself making multiple variations to handle all the ways people screwed up your basic turn in instructions.
2) Studying code from other people is yes time consuming, but very valuable for you as a student. You will see patterns of solutions emerge and you'll see first hand where people had problems, and where they are inefficient. This gives you excellent data to share with students during recitation. It's valuable for everyone to discuss the different ways the problem was attacked and you being in the position of seeing everyone's code can make thoughtful assessments of what were ultimately good and bad choices.
3) Spending time automating can turn into a black hole; better to just spend time automating a turn in procedure that sorts people's submissions into folders.
4) Why not put testing the code onto the student's shoulders? If you have the need for seeing output why not instead post a series of expected inputs and outputs and ask students to turn in results that document this. Yes, it is more work for them. But becoming careful about work and careful to check it before turning in is or should be a key goal in a programming course.
5) Too much automating can set you up for grief from the professor if several students privately go complain to him or her about your choice. If they perceive your methods are unfairly depriving them of points, even if it is not true, you'll get complaints and depending on the character of the prof, he or she may not defend your actions and choose to make you out as a bad TA.
6) Take care not to go against the prof, it would be advisable to directly ask what their opinion is - it is after all their class.
7) Studying the code, rather than pushing it through an automated checker, is a good way to see who might be cheating and unfairly copying code. It's also quite hysterical to see the lengths that some desperate people will go to hide this from you like changing variable names and being very fancy with comments, but logic is logic and after looking at code you'll see cheaters really easily. Unless it's a group assignment where this was allowed, cheating shouldn't be tolerated. Some TAs have automated searching for cheating in coding assignments - perhaps this might be a better use of your time.
Good luck and have fun with those late night emails begging for help 8 hours before the assignment is due...