My RATs are pretty simple. If someone reads the material twice: first
casually, then for detail, they can do quite well. I always get some
scores of 10 out of 10, so someone can do them. If I lectured, I would
tell them the answers during lecture and there would be no reason to
read. The RATS are to assess what they have read, not what I have told
them.
I give the chance to ask questions before the RAT. If they have done
the readings, ask good questions, they do better. If they haven't done
the readings and don't understand the questions, it probably doesn't
help much. If someone asks a question that I have put on a RAT, I tell
them the answer. It's not a big deal and I go on. Most students do
better on the RATs as a result of questions, but not all. I notice that
when there are a lot of questions then they do better.
They are often just lazy. I am regularly asked to lecture more. This
is a hidden code. They want you to tell them what is important, so they
can limit their responsibility for learning to those things, then do
part of it or do it poorly, then complain when you ask an exam question
that wasn't "covered" in the lecture.
Students learn this behavior early and, from a behavioral perspective,
are strongly rewarded for it. When you don't conform with these social
norms, you are swimming upstream.
Statistics is about students doing things, not about me telling them
things. More lectures aren't the answer. More doing things by students
is the answer. This is a conclusion that most of the math and
statistics community has come to over the last 15 years. Check the
Calculus Reform movement.
When I am firm but friendly, they get the idea. They are responsible
for all the readings before class. None of this makes anyone happy. It
makes them learn. Sometimes they don't get the idea until after the
first exam, so I schedule three exams a semester to give them a break.
As an aside: All my students are graduate students. We tend to blame
their learned dependency on undergraduate school habits. I've
discovered that teachers there tend to blame poor habits on high school.
However, I don't ask any of them to show any responsibility that I
didn't learn in high school. (Particularly the part about reading
assignments before the due dates.) Where does the fault lie? Partly in
human nature, partly in learned attitudes and behavior. It can't
possibly come from any single place or experience.
Anyway, this is my more cynical view of life and teaching. The role of
RATs helps me focus on the responsibility for doing the readings on
time. It belongs to the student.
If you want people to learn on their own, you have to give them a guide
and turn them loose. Reward the ones who respond to this. Give some
boosts and hints to everyone else, but expect them to do things on their
own. If we don't tell people exactly what we want (if only implicitly
by our lecturing) they can learn amazing amounts, much more than I ever
would have expected. This is the rewarding part.
Regards,
David Smith
David W. Smith, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Associate Professor, Biostatistics
The University of Texas School of Public Health
San Antonio Branch Campus
voice: (210) 562-5512
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-----Original Message-----
From: Team Learning Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Christine Porter
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2004 1:08 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: A couple of questions
Isn't the point of the Readiness Assessment Test to have the kids learn
the stuff first so they can get more in depth with lectures and
projects? Sounds like a bunch of lazy kids who don't like to
think....hey...they sound like my kids. :) They are so used to just
having things spoon fed to them I think and aren't used to actively
having to learn the stuff on their own. It's hard to say if your RATs
are too hard or they're not trying yet or buying into the process yet.
My two cents. Good luck.
Chris Porter
Director of Bands
Brooklyn Center High School
[log in to unmask]
763-561-2120 x2602
>>> "Kubitz, Karla" <[log in to unmask]> 10/19/04 12:32 PM >>>
Hello TBL colleagues,
I've a couple of questions that I'd like to put out there for some
feedback.
First, how do you tell whether your RATs are too hard? My students have
been averaging about 66-67% on their individual RATs and about 93-94% on
their team RATs. That's across three classes and across 4 RATs so far
this semester. Does that sound like they're too hard?
Second, I just did a class session to look at team processes (along the
lines of the one suggested in Michaelsen's book) where you ask the teams
what behaviors have helped, hurt, etc. I also included the question
about what the instructor could do to make the class better. In both of
my classes, I got the suggestion to lecture before the RATs instead of
after. Any suggestions on how to respond to the classes about this
suggestion?
Karla
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