Re: [WWdevel] problem groups (in gateway tests)

[Jeff H. <je...@vi...>]

We've been using Gavin's gateway testing feature for the last two terms. 
There have been times where the "group:topic1:N" would have been handy to 
have.  I'd be in favor of adding this in if it's not too much trouble.

--Jeff

--On Monday, May 15, 2006 11:22 AM -0400 "P. Gavin LaRose" 
<gl...@um...> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> This is a question about adding problems to a set from a group of
> problems, which is done for gateway tests.  This is (only) implemented
> for versioned sets (that is, gateway tests).  The idea is that one can
> define a problem set (gateway test) for which each problem on the set is
> drawn from a group of possible problems.  (For example, on a derivative
> gateway test we might want one "derivatives of trig functions" problem,
> one "derivatives of exponentials", etc.)
>
> This is done in the following manner.
>   - a set, say, settopic1.def, is created that lists all of the problems
> in
>     the group.  then
>   - in the set definition for the set including a problem from the group
>     declares the problem source to be "group:topic1"
>   - this source file name is caught by the subroutine
>     Instructor::assignProblemToUserSetVersion when a new version of the
> set
>     is being created for the user, and the problem that is actually added
>     to the user's set is randomly selected from the list of problems in
> the
>     topic1 set.
>
> I'm now thinking about how to include more than one problem from a
> problem group.
>
> I think the logical way to do this is to refine the way problems are
> selected from the group to include an indication of the number of problems
> to be selected from the group.  That is, instead of having the set declare
> a problem "group:topic1", have the declaration be "group:topic1:N", where
> N is the number of problems to include.  Then when a new version of the
> set is created and assignProblemToUserSetVersion is called, it would
> actually add N problems to the user's set version.
>
> An argument against this might be that it's aesthetically displeasing:
> the set is being created with Instructor:assignSetVersionToUser, which
> (currently) makes one call to assignProblemToUserSetVersion for every
> problem to be added to the set. What I've suggested above would push some
> of the "set construction" down into the problem assignment (because
> assignProblemToUserSetVersion could now be doing multiple assignments per
> "problem"), which seems logically incorrect.
>
> The other option would be to allow multiple problems to be assigned from
> the group, and to have some check built into assignProblemToUserSetVersion
> that it's not assigning the same problem that's already been assigned.
> But that would be rather more difficult to implement.
>
> Any comments?
>
> Thanks,
> Gavin
>
> --
> P. Gavin LaRose / Instructional Tech.,  The tough problem is not in iden-
> Math Dept., University of Michigan      tifying winners;  it is in making
> gl...@um...                       winners of ordinary people. That,
> 734.764.6454                            after  all,  is  the overwhelming
> http://www.math.lsa.umich.edu/~glarose/ purpose of education.  -K.P.Cross
>
>
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