My Japanese students seemed less willing to give honest evaluations (so
are giving everyone equal scores) in their second course using TBL.
It's as if they fell into the attitude that they would just all help
each other pass, even though there were a few students whom I witnessed
that were totally uninvolved in team activities, arrived late, and got
really low scores on their iRATs. Some colleagues say I shouldn't be
surprised since it is a common Japanese mentality to "help the team"
even if that means some have to do all of the work.
Though a minority of students are still giving varied scores to
teammates and writing good feedback, I'm beginning to feel that the most
I can expect out of peer evaluations is to give me the right to say
"Well, you had your chance!! It's not me who is passing the lazy ones!"
Please help me to overcome my bad attitude. :'( I need advice from my team!
Thanks!
Christine Kuramoto
Kyushu University, Fukuoka Japan
Molly Espey wrote:
> I'm afraid there are some students for whom it doesn't matter what you
> do, they will remain disinterested. For others, they are used to
> being able to do little in class and study the night before the exam
> and pass; maybe passing is all they are shooting for. Still others
> think they can free ride on the efforts of the team. For either of
> these latter two types of students, honest peer evaluations and
> mid-semester grade updates can shake them out of their misconception
> that they can pass with little or no in-class effort. I've had
> several students turn it around when it becomes clear to them
> that they actually have to participate in team activities to get a
> decent grade for that portion of the class. I also try to impress on
> everyone in the class how important it is to send that signal to their
> teammates that they are poor participants if they are. The
> mid-semester evaluations (which I don't count toward the final grade)
> are the perfect time to send the signal, allowing students sufficient
> time to improve their performance. Most improve, at least somewhat,
> in my experience.
>
> Molly Espey
> Department of Applied Economics and Statistics
> 263 Barre Hall
> Clemson University
> Clemson, SC 29634
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Herb Coleman <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> *Sent:* Monday, September 14, 2009 6:36 PM
> *Subject:* How to handle disinterested students
>
> Usually, I can tell when students are not going to make it because
> they
> stop coming to class. I have a couple of students in an Intro to
> Psych
> class taught on a Sunday afternoon, that seem totally disinterested.
> They don't seem to give much in the way of discussion to the group
> and
> only help with the mechanics, (writing up or entering the teams
> answers). Their iRATs are abysmal. We are ending our first unit so
> this
> will also be our first peer reviews so I hope these things will take
> care of themselves. I also plan to directly address the offenders.
> I was
> just wondering if anyone has dealt with this before?
>
>
> --
>
> Herb Coleman,Ph.D
> Dir. Instructional Computing and Technology
> Adjunct Professor of Psychology
> Austin Community College
> Highland Business Center
> 5930 Middle Fiskville Rd.
> Austin, TX 78752
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> 512-223-7746
> *************************************************
> “I, and every other professor on this campus, are
> here to help you to find, take back, and keep your
> righteous mind.”
>
> ---Professor Melvin Tolson
> from the motion picture "The Great Debaters"
> *************************************************
>
--
*******
Christine Kuramoto, Assistant Professor: Medical English
Kyushu University, Department of Medical Education
Faculty of Medical Sciences
3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582 Japan
Phone: (+81)92-642-6186 Fax: (+81)92-642-6188
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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