Problem Roulette began in 2011 with some modest code written by Mike Mills, an Engineering Physics major, and a set of introductory physics problems provided by Prof. Gus Evrard.
With development and operating support from by the U-M Library, the service grew to encompass a healthy mix of lecturers, students, staff and administrators involved in eight introductory courses in physics, chemistry, statistics, and engineering. From 2013-2017, PR served over 7 million problem instances to more than 20,000 students on the Ann Arbor campus.
A new version of PR was deployed in Fall 2017, developed by a team in the Office of Academic Innovation.
Relevant publications:
- This 2015 American J Physics article describes the original service (also available on arXiv).
- A 2017 MIDAS poster analyzing behavior by sex.
Funding sources include a Gilbert A. Whittaker grant from the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, Faculty Development Funds from LSA Instructional Support Services, and Academic Innovation Funds from the Office of Academic Innovation.