MAILING LISTS

I'm wondering if anyone has ever given students the option of opting out
of the TBL.  In my experience, most of the students are quite drawn to it
when first introduced, but those who do not like it can be real rotten
eggs in their groups.

I do the individual and team "RAT" over the syllabus on the first day to
give them a TBL experience.  On the second day of class (I typically teach
MWF and the first week is WF), I do an extended group activity analyzing
markets and market connections.  I teach economics, so this activity
recently has been centered around either oil or corn prices and how many
other markets are impacted this.  This is an activity the students can do
without formal economics training.  It isn't until the third class period
that I give the first "real" RAT.

So, I was thinking it would be interesting to allow students to opt out of
the TBL but they would have to decide before that first real RAT.  During
the semester, when teams are working on things as teams, individuals can
work on the same problems alone.  But none of that would be graded for
individuals.  I really don't think very many students would opt out, but I
may be setting myself up for trouble logistically.  I thought it might be
an interesting experiment as well, to see how many choose to opt out and
how their performance and satisfaction compares to the others.

Molly Espey, who can never leave well enough alone...

Applied Economics and Statistics
Clemson University
Clemson, SC 29634