Hi Christine,
At Regis University School of Pharmacy, we use TBL to deliver the majority of our classroom-based curriculum. Creating a standard attendance policy was therefore deemed critical by the pharmacy faculty to maintain consistency. I've copied below the text of the policy from our student handbook that covers absences from TBL courses:
Class attendance is required to receive credit for assignments and evaluation exercises completed during class. Absences will not be categorized as excused or unexcused. To accommodate the occasional necessary absence, classes delivered using team-based learning (TBL) will drop the lowest single iRAT, tRAT and application exercise score from each student’s course grade. An absence from a midterm exam will initiate Academic Jeopardy and a mandatory meeting with the student’s faculty advisor, course director and the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. For classes that have a final comprehensive exam, midterm exams missed due to absence will not be made up; instead, the percent contribution of the final comprehensive exam score to the final course grade will be increased to account for the missed midterm exam(s). For courses that do not have a comprehensive final exam the exam absence policy will be decided by the course director in consultation with the Curriculum Committee Chair and the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, with the understanding that students will be assessed over all course material and demonstrate concept/content mastery. Final exams missed due to an absence will be handled on a case-by-case basis by the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and the course director.
If a student arrives to class after an iRAT has started, he/she will not be allowed to take the iRAT. The student will remain outside of the classroom until the iRAT is complete and will receive a zero for the missed iRAT. However, the student may then join their team for the tRAT and receive the team grade. Additionally, a student needs to be present for the entire team application exercise to receive credit for their contribution to the team’s grade. The same policy is in place for quizzes during a classroom course.
-- Michael
Michael Nelson, PhD, RPh
Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions School of Pharmacy
Regis University, Denver, Colorado
303.625.1265 (phone) 303.625.1305 (fax)
-----Original Message-----
From: Team-Based Learning [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of TEAMLEARNING-L automatic digest system
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 1:00 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: TEAMLEARNING-L Digest - 20 Apr 2010 to 21 Apr 2010 (#2010-50)
There are 2 messages totalling 187 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. absent team members (2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:14:43 -0400
From: Andrew Finn <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: absent team members
Hi all & especially Christine,
Not surprisingly, this issue came up on the list a couple years ago.
(Wish I could find the exchange from then). But here's a short version
of what I said:
Legitimate absences (medical, athletic, tragic, emergency excuses) are
always going to be an issue. I solved it years ago by giving 6 RATs
and dropping the lowest iRAT and the lowest tRAT. It takes the
pressure off everyone in several ways. Obviously then, I build my
total semester points based on 5 RATs from the beginning.
(Re: Dean Parmelee's 4/20/10 comment - if you had 5 or fewer no shows
after 1600 students (times X number of RATs!), your Wright State
students are amazing. I've personally had over 1000 students through
my TBL courses and legitimate absences come up almost every semester.)
Related -
- if you aren't present in class to contribute to the tRAT, you
can't get the points
- I always give RATs at the beginning of class, and inevitably some
students walk in late. My rule is: you must do the iRAT first. When
the tRAT starts, you must turn in your iRAT regardless of whether you
are finished. If teams have already started the tRAT, an arriving
student can take the iRAT out in the hall, but will have to miss the
tRAT. "Readiness Assessment" starts at the individual level, then the
team level.
Andy
On Apr 20, 2010, at 1:06 AM, Christine Kuramoto wrote:
> Dear Friends,
>
> I have a question about absent team members. In the past I've
> always given students the tRAT score from their team when they
> missed a RAT day and a 0 for the iRAT. I'm teaching the same 100
> students in their second round of TBL and notice the same guys tend
> to skip class as the last time. My students had a tendency to be
> quite lenient on their peer evaluations, so the skippers got the
> team points and still got pretty good peer evaluations last year
> (with a few brave members commenting "you should come to class more"
> but still not lowering their scores much).
>
> I'm beginning to wonder if I should step in and say that absent
> students won't get the team score for the tRAT. The tRATs are what
> saved a few of them from failing last year. Am I teaching them that
> it's OK to be lazy and let your team take responsibility for it? Or
> should I be looking at the bigger picture that says, "See team! You
> have the power to let them sink or save them. It's up to you."--
> which is then teaching them the responsibility of being part of a
> team and what the real world is like.
>
> Hmmmmm. . .
>
> Please let me know what you think.
>
> Thanks!
> Christine
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished
listening.
- Dorothy Sarnoff
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
T. Andrew Finn
Associate Professor
Department of Communication (3d6)
George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030
Office: Sci & Tech II, Room 153
Dr. Finn's mailbox is in S&T II, Rm. 230 (the Comm. Dept. office)
703-993-4387 (office)
703-993-1096 (office fax)
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Web Site: http://mason.gmu.edu/~afinn/
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:45:32 -0400
From: Dean Parmelee <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: absent team members
I meant no-shows for no good reason. Sorry. They are amazing anyway.
Nothing like iPhoneñ‰õµ
On Apr 21, 2010, at 5:14 PM, Andrew Finn <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi all & especially Christine,
>
> Not surprisingly, this issue came up on the list a couple years ago.
> (Wish I could find the exchange from then). But here's a short
> version of what I said:
>
> Legitimate absences (medical, athletic, tragic, emergency excuses)
> are always going to be an issue. I solved it years ago by giving 6
> RATs and dropping the lowest iRAT and the lowest tRAT. It takes the
> pressure off everyone in several ways. Obviously then, I build my
> total semester points based on 5 RATs from the beginning.
>
> (Re: Dean Parmelee's 4/20/10 comment - if you had 5 or fewer no
> shows after 1600 students (times X number of RATs!), your Wright
> State students are amazing. I've personally had over 1000 students
> through my TBL courses and legitimate absences come up almost every
> semester.)
>
> Related -
> - if you aren't present in class to contribute to the tRAT, you
> can't get the points
> - I always give RATs at the beginning of class, and inevitably some
> students walk in late. My rule is: you must do the iRAT first. When
> the tRAT starts, you must turn in your iRAT regardless of whether
> you are finished. If teams have already started the tRAT, an
> arriving student can take the iRAT out in the hall, but will have to
> miss the tRAT. "Readiness Assessment" starts at the individual
> level, then the team level.
>
> Andy
>
> On Apr 20, 2010, at 1:06 AM, Christine Kuramoto wrote:
>
>> Dear Friends,
>>
>> I have a question about absent team members. In the past I've
>> always given students the tRAT score from their team when they
>> missed a RAT day and a 0 for the iRAT. I'm teaching the same 100
>> students in their second round of TBL and notice the same guys tend
>> to skip class as the last time. My students had a tendency to be
>> quite lenient on their peer evaluations, so the skippers got the
>> team points and still got pretty good peer evaluations last year
>> (with a few brave members commenting "you should come to class
>> more" but still not lowering their scores much).
>>
>> I'm beginning to wonder if I should step in and say that absent
>> students won't get the team score for the tRAT. The tRATs are what
>> saved a few of them from failing last year. Am I teaching them that
>> it's OK to be lazy and let your team take responsibility for it? Or
>> should I be looking at the bigger picture that says, "See team! You
>> have the power to let them sink or save them. It's up to you."--
>> which is then teaching them the responsibility of being part of a
>> team and what the real world is like.
>>
>> Hmmmmm. . .
>>
>> Please let me know what you think.
>>
>> Thanks!
>> Christine
>
> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
>
> Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has
> finished listening.
>
> - Dorothy Sarnoff
>
> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
> T. Andrew Finn
> Associate Professor
> Department of Communication (3d6)
> George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030
>
> Office: Sci & Tech II, Room 153
> Dr. Finn's mailbox is in S&T II, Rm. 230 (the Comm. Dept. office)
> 703-993-4387 (office)
> 703-993-1096 (office fax)
> E-mail: [log in to unmask]
> Web Site: http://mason.gmu.edu/~afinn/
> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
------------------------------
End of TEAMLEARNING-L Digest - 20 Apr 2010 to 21 Apr 2010 (#2010-50)
********************************************************************
|
