Homework Assignment Submission: Gauging Student Responsiveness and Behavior

This abstract has been submitted for presentation-only consideration. One of the inherent challenges with student learning is gauging the degree to which that learning is occurring in real-time. For this reason, the assignment of homework problems or writing assignments serves as one way to determine how well the student is comprehending the information provided during in-class lectures or following their own self-study of assigned reading materials. The homework assignment also enables the professor to determine, to some degree, how well individual students and the class as a whole seem to be comprehending the information. The self-initiated task of completing and submitting homework assignments, however, can significantly vary from person to person. As a case study to examine student responsiveness and perceived procrastination behaviors, students taking the Introduction to Civil Engineering (CE 115) course at the University of Idaho were evaluated based on their electronic submission of a weekly writing assignment for seven weeks. This presentation will discuss: how this process was administered, the challenges associated with this approach, student outcomes based on this form of assessment, and lessons learned from the professor. This presentation will also highlight the changes, if any, to student behavior after the introduction of a module focused on the urgency and importance of daily academic activities was introduced.