MAILING LISTS

Ken,

Does your grading rubric clearly indicate that you are looking for analysis and those key topics -- descriptors which emphasize this at the high score end and descriptions representing the "memory dump" approach at  the low end of the scale?

Does your grading rubric identify focus as a criteria -- descriptors would emphasize summary or significant topics vs. listing of every topic in the time period?

Do you have a page limit (this may limit the ability for brain dumps)?

I'm using the CATME.org site to have students complete the peer evaluation.  This is my third semester and so far it has provided better peer evaluation feedback than submission of evaluation forms on paper.  The only other thought on the freeloader problem is to include the option that you (or a TA) could randomly interview one of the team members to validate the group's submission.  I realize this would take time and may not be feasible given the class size, but it is one way I have used in the past to ensure that all team members understand the material and have contributed to the assignment (particularly with out-of-class activities).

Frank


Dr. Frank Gersich
Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning Resources Coordinator, Accreditation Liaison Officer, Chief Licensure Officer, and Professor of Accounting
Dept. of Accounting
309-457-2119 office
Monmouth College
700 East Broadway
Monmouth IL 61462-1998
www.monmouthcollege.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: Team-Based Learning [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ken Gunnells
Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2014 9:58 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Problem assignment in a new class

I have a problem with an assignment in my face-to-face Management Information Systems class. At the end of each 2-week module, the current out-of-class assignment has student teams creating a summary of the key topics from the chapters and cases in the module. 
They are supposed to relate each of approximately 6-8 key topics to the theme of the module, demonstrate an understanding of the topic, and give examples of how businesses have used or can use the topics to compete in the market place. The goals are for students to be able to separate the important from the less important, and to give them the tools to make better decisions in the future. The problem with this assignment is that teams have taken a divide and conquer approach, and freeloading has become a problem, even in the face of impending peer evaluations. I am also getting brain dumps and summaries of entire chapters and cases, instead of the summaries of a few key topics. In order to reach my goals for the assignment and to eliminate the freeloading problem, I need your help to redesign it while I still have 3 modules yet to cover. If I could somehow find a way to revise the assignment then I am confident I could dramatically improve the class.

Ken Gunnells, Ph.D.
COLLAT School of Business, Management Information Systems & Quantitative Methods UAB | The University of Alabama at Birmingham
205-222-0871
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