This page provides additional information about Sakai questions (SQs) for practice problem (PP) data sets. Please also see your "Course information and policies" handout (available after the first day of class) for SQ procedures and requirements.
How to answer SQs
- Please remember that Sakai questions are not, in and of themselves, your main preparation for class.
Your main preparation is to work through any practice problems (PPs)
that are assigned on the Daily syllabus page.
SQs are a quick spot-check that lets me see how you are doing with the course material.
- Format for your answers: Short answers are perfectly fine (as in, just a few words). Unless the SQ specifically asks you for detailed discussion, you don't need to write long paragraphs. The place for you to demonstrate clear writing and careful argumentation will be the phonology write-ups that you turn in three times during the semester; the SQs are more for mastering concepts and practicing analysis skills.
SQ feedback — How well are you doing with the course material?
- You will get feedback on your SQ answers directly on Sakai.
- We will typically not discuss SQs in detail in class (although if needed, you will have a chance to ask questions). The role of SQs is to be practice and preparation for the follow-up problems that you will solve during class, either from the same PP data set or from a new discussion exercise (DE) data set that was not assigned in advance.
- For many of the SQs, after you answer each question or question subpart,
there will be a Feedback button for you to click.
The feedback provided here is the same for all students, and is usually a generic "model answer" to the question,
or some kind of hint for the upcoming class discussion.
- Unless stated otherwise, within a day or two after a SQ is due,
I will assign a score from 0 to 1 to each specific question or question subpart within the SQ assignment.
- An answer that is complete and accurate will receive a score of 1.
- An answer that isn't quite right, or is missing something, will receive a lower score, such as 0.75 or 0.5.
- A score of 0 will only be assigned if you do not submit the SQ, if your answer to a significant portion of the SQ is blank, or if I otherwise have reason to believe your answer does not represent a legitimate attempt to answer the question.
- Along with assigning scores, I will usually provide "instructor's
comments" on some of the parts of your answer.
These are specific to your individual answer; use them to help you learn.
- The comments and the scores will give you a sense of how well you have understood the material covered in that SQ. If your scores are below the maximum, you are strongly encouraged to review the relevant topics to see if they have become clearer after you have read my "instructor's comments" on your work and have participated in class discussion and group work. (If things are not clearer, please come and talk to me outside of class!)
SQ grading — A/B/0
- Once I have assigned a score to all the parts of the SQ,
I will assign grades of A (if the score is close to the maximum possible),
B (for all other legitimately completed SQs),
or 0 (if the SQ is substantially incomplete or if the answer is not a legitimate attempt).
Grades will appear as a "comment" on the numerical score in the Sakai Gradebook. [Or so I think!
The Gradebook has been updated in Sakai and I will have to confirm that this still works.]
- For a few days after you have submitted an SQ, you may see a "0" for your score in the Sakai Tests & Quizzes tool. This just means I haven't finished scoring the SQ yet; don't worry unless you see a 0 in the Sakai Gradebook.
Troubleshooting
- If at any point the Sakai interface
isn't working for you, or if the process seems more inconvenient than it
should be because of the way I have some setting specified, please let me know
(by email is probably best).
My goal is for SQs to be helpful for you in mastering the course material, not
just to be another source of Sakai frustration.
- If you do send me an e-mail to get clarification or report a problem or an inconvenience, please be as specific as possible about what you need clarified or what isn't working for you. If you tell me, "I don't know how to answer question (3)," I can't tell if you aren't sure what to click on the screen, or whether you have a question about the content (and if so, which part of the content is puzzling).