Assigning Open Problems in Class

9 days ago

Assigning open problems as extra credit involves deciding whether to inform students about the problem's open status.
Telling students a problem is open can be fair but may discourage some; not telling can lead to unexpected solutions.
Distinguishing between truly hard open problems and those simply unsolved by the instructor is important.
Instructors may worry about students' perception if they solve a problem the instructor couldn't, but enthusiasm for the solution can mitigate this.
Extra credit problems can either count towards the grade or only for recommendation letters, with arguments for both approaches.
Students might prefer knowing a problem is open, and solving it could reflect luck or exposure to certain methods rather than instructor inadequacy.
Partial approaches to unsolved problems can be assigned as sub-problems to guide students.

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