[LON-CAPA-cvs] cvs: modules /gerd/discussions/paper discussions.tex

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www		Fri Dec 16 16:07:38 2005 EDT

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    /modules/gerd/discussions/paper	discussions.tex 
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Index: modules/gerd/discussions/paper/discussions.tex
diff -u modules/gerd/discussions/paper/discussions.tex:1.27 modules/gerd/discussions/paper/discussions.tex:1.28
--- modules/gerd/discussions/paper/discussions.tex:1.27	Tue Dec 13 10:13:10 2005
+++ modules/gerd/discussions/paper/discussions.tex	Fri Dec 16 16:07:36 2005
@@ -452,21 +452,22 @@
 138 students (65 percent) contributed at least one discussion posting over the course of the semester. Figure~\ref{fig:contribBinned} shows the distribution
 of number of discussion contributions over the course of the semester. Most students who participated made between one and ten contributions, but one student made
 66 postings.
-It is not possible to find out which percentage students {\it read} the discussions, since discussion are automatically attached to the questions and always visible.
-The average number of postings per student was $5\pm0.7$. Women had a significantly higher average number of postings than men:
-each female student contributed an average of $5.9\pm1$ postings, while each male student contributed an average of $3.7\pm0.7$ postings.
+It is not possible to find out which percentage students {\it read} the discussions, since it is automatically attached to the questions and always visible.
+The average number of postings per student was $5\pm0.7$; 
+female students contributed an average of $5.9\pm1$ postings, while male students contributed an average of $3.7\pm0.7$ postings.
 \subsection{Grade-Dependence of Discussion Contributions\label{subsec:gradedep}} 
 The average grade in the course was $3.21\pm0.05$, with men and women achieving equally high grades (men: $3.29\pm0.08$; women: $3.17\pm0.05$). 
-No correlation could be found between the average number of discussion postings and the grade in the course --- in terms of absolute 
+In terms of absolute 
 numbers, within statistical errors, students with high and low grades in the course participated equally in the discussions. The positive correlation between participation in the
-this ``moderated'' discussion forum and course grades~\cite{kashy03} could not be confirmed in this study.
+this ``moderated'' discussion forum and course grades found in~\cite{kashy03} could not be confirmed in this study.
 \begin{figure}
 \includegraphics[width=86mm]{KortemeyerFig5}% Here is how to import EPS art
 \caption{\label{fig:gradecorrel}Prominance of discussion superclasses by grade.}
 \end{figure}
-Significant differences as a function of course grade appear when considering the classes of discussions (subsection~\ref{subsec:disccat}). 
-In this analysis, the percentage prominance of certain types and 
-features in students' cummulative contributions over the semester was analyzed. The individual percentage (relative) prominances were then averaged by grade. 
+While the {\it number} of postings is uncorrelated to course grade, their {\it classification} 
+(subsection~\ref{subsec:disccat}) is correlated. 
+In this analysis, the percentage prominance of certain classes
+in students' cummulative contributions over the semester was analyzed. The individual percentage (relative) prominances were then averaged by grade. 
 Note that the outcome is independent of the absolute number of postings a student made, e.g., the discussion behaviour of the student who made 66 contributions is weighed 
 equally to that of a student having made only the average 5 contributions. Figure~\ref{fig:gradecorrel}
 shows the outcome of this study by discussion superclass. As an example, the figure is to be interpreted this way: within the indicated errors, 
@@ -484,7 +485,7 @@
  
 \section{Results of Analysis by Question\label{sec:question}}
 \subsection{Influence of Question Difficulty}
-Using the full data set of three courses, each discussion contribution associated with a question was classified according to the types and features described in 
+Using the full data set of three courses, each discussion contribution associated with a question was classified according to 
 subsection~\ref{subsec:disccat}. As a measure of the prominence of a class in a given discussion, 
 the number of contributions belonging to it is divided by the total number of contributions. The discussion characteristics of the problems were binned by their 
 difficulty index and the average percentage plotted in figure~\ref{fig:diff}. Only superclasses are
@@ -525,7 +526,7 @@
 \end{figure}
 
 \subsection{\label{subsec:qtype}Influence of Question Types}
-Using the full data set of three courses, each question was classified according to the types and features described in subsection~\ref{subsec:problemcat}, and each associated discussion entry according to~\ref{subsec:disccat}. As a measure of the prominence of a class in a given discussion, 
+Using the full data set of three courses, each question was classified according to subsection~\ref{subsec:problemcat}, and each associated discussion entry according to~\ref{subsec:disccat}. As a measure of the prominence of a class in a given discussion, 
 the number of contributions belonging to it is divided by the total number of contributions. 
 Table~\ref{table:qtype} shows the percentage prominence of discussion contributions with a certain type or with certain features in the discussions associated with questions
 that are of a certain type or have certain features.