Group Project Final Grades Redux

Alright, this caused me a relatively sleepless night, and a morning exercise routine distracted thinking about the answers I would provide to soothe everyone's ruffled feathers. I don't think I can make everyone happen, and honestly, I have never, ever had to justify my grading decisions before. This is a first, and the last time, I am going to justify my decision making process to an entire class, but I know there were enough ruffled feathers and one or two of the criticisms made had me thinking. If you still have complaints about my decision process, come see me on Tuesday afternoon, from 12-3 during office hours.

Also remember, this project is still only 25% of the grade, and the team grade can still be modified up or down based on the information provided by team leaders about your individual contributions and by your own final report on the project. Remember, for the vast majority of you, with the grades (and the extra credit) already out there, the final exam has a bigger impact on what your final grade might be then this project will.

DO NOT CONSIDER THE TEAM GRADE TO BE YOUR OVERALL GRADE FOR THE PROJECT!

As for how the team grades were assigned:

First off, the Rube Goldberg machine rules indicate that the machine must function and be able to be reset and function again within a set period of time. Second, there are limited attempts to make it work, in this case 3 attempts. Third, it doesn't matter how complex the machine was, or how many steps involved, it still must function and be reset in the time period allowed.

So with the above in mind:

Group #1: Hit the Easy Button. Grade A
Fairly complex number of steps. Worked the first time, and was reset and worked the second time immediately thereafter. Obviously met the demands of the assignment and was a functioning Rube Goldberg device.

Group # 2: Click Pen. Grade B+
The only issues with this design was that it did not seem overly complex, with fewer steps than other projects, but it did work after failing the first time. It was reset and worked again.

Group #3: Swingline Group. New Grade B-/C+
This group got a bonus to their project despite failing to have the project complete its intended actions or work without outside help. In fact it only worked with outside assistance and the device hung up continually at a single failure point. Their bonus grade comes from the extensive presentation and the fact that they tried to tie each section of their design to something they learned in the course.

Group #4: Launch a Doggy Toy. Grade B+
Highly complex and intricately designed, but did not work the first time as was intended. Managed to make it work the second time and was able to be set up to work a third time, but time failed. Complexity boosted grade; grade diminished because it did not reset and run second time in allotted time frame.

Group #5: Bottle Pourers. Grade C
While individually the most complex of the designs, it ultimately failed to work as was intended. Yes the individual sections of the design seemed to work, this project was perhaps overly ambitious with numerous potential (and actual) failure points. What brought it down to the lowest grade, perhaps over the other two failed projects, is that they had the longest preparation time of any group (more than 40 minutes before their 20 minute allotted time began) and yet they still failed to have the device do what it was going to do even once. The only way the project even completed its final goal at the end of the allotted time was from the physical interaction of two of the team members in the machine's processes.

Group #6: Nosepicker. Grade A-
While it was not the most complex of designs (I think I counted 6-7 individual steps) and it was somewhat simple in its purpose, it did work as advertised the first time, and then immediately was set up to run a second time. While the most complex part of the design was spelling out my name in Dominos, they had the foresight to have a fall back plan in case that did not worked. It saved them the second time when the fall back option triggered the device the second time. Technically the only thing separating them from the other B+ grades was that it worked the first time and was reset to operate in the second try and did so successfully.

Group #7: Pick a Pen. New Grade C+
Obviously a design that they worked hard on, but the individual parts did seem to work as they were partially activated when triggered by the students. However, as was pointed out by numerous observers (and was in my notes), the design never did work as it was supposed to, and ultimately failed. Ran out of time to reset one more time for a third attempt.