Writing Problem Sets and Questions
Structuring a Problem Set
1) When you begin writing a problem set, make a list of all of the important
topics you would like to address. Stick to these topics when designing the
questions. Try to keep questions focused on topics that were emphasized
in lecture. However, write questions so that students have to apply what
they learned in class rather than just reiterate memorized facts from lecture
notes.
2) Include a variety of questions (factual, calculations, model building, etc.). This ensures that the students can apply what they learned in class to solving problems and allows the TA to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the students.
Writing Clear Questions
1) If you write a multiple part question, list each individual point separately
as a)..., b)..., c)... etc. This makes the question easier to read and prevents
the possibility of students missing part of the question.
2) When you write a question be sure to consider all possible answers. Students may come up with something different than you had in mind, but it still may be a plausible answer. Therefore you need to have a little flexibility when grading. Discussing your question with other TA's is a good way to address other possible solutions.
3) Always remember that you will have to grade the answers to the problems that you write. Therefore make sure that the questions are clearly worded and that the students will be sure of what is being asked of them. When the question is unclear, students will undoubtedly get confused and this will make grading the answers much more difficult. It's a good idea to have another TA try to answer your problems to determine the clarity of your writing.
4) If you will be grading many problem sets you may consider writing some questions which are multiple choice or have students fill in graphs or tables. Alternatively you can design short answer questions and limit the students' responses to 1-2 sentences. This forces the students to write focused responses rather than including everything they know about a given subject and hoping the right answer will be contained somewhere in their response.