I agree. I have had mixed reactions to the TBL process as well. I, too, required students to complete journal entries in one of my courses a couple of semesters ago. Students could write entries either about the course material or about the TBL process. Here are some randomly selected entries from students that commented about TBL. You can see the mostly positive ... and one definitely negative... reactions. Karla
Karla Kubitz, Ph.D., FACSM
Program Coordinator, Exercise Science
Department of Kinesiology
Towson University
8000 York Rd
Towson, MD 21252
410-704-3168 (ph)
410-704-3912 (fax)
Throughout the semester I have been introduced to a new style of learning from you called team based learning. Though I have only been involved with this for a few weeks I have liked it so far. I like the fact that we can talk about things in groups and collaborate to get an answer. I feel that team based learning not only helps me to understand the material that we are tested on, but it also helps make the class easier to pass. Having my teammates back and them having my back makes the class much easier to learn things.
So far in this class I don't like team based learning because I do not feel like I am learning from others. It takes a lot of time for me to read the chapters and do the blueprints then teach myself all the material. I think there should be more talking about the chapter material either by the professor or by the group. This would help with connecting the material and help me feel like I am using the information that I learn at home for more than just a test. The one thing I do like about team based learning is that the group gets higher scores in the TRAT's then most of the individuals in the group.
I feel that I am starting to get the hang of this testing system and I am getting increasingly better at preparing for each test. I also believe that being in a group helps me to prepare better for the RAT tests. It's not that I don't usually prepare for tests, but I think that being in the group adds extra motivation to know the content which we are being tested on. Once the IRAT is finished and we move into our groups to complete the team RAT, I want to be able to contribute to the discussions/debates that we have over answers.
As far as I can tell team based learning has aided me in two ways. First, having the test blue print notes makes me more confident when taking the IRAT's. Most people would think "of course you do better because you have all the answers right there," however, I can tell you that even though I have had the blueprint notes with me, I have probably only used them once to help me answer a question. Second, the TRAT's have helped because having the extra dialogue aids in understanding the concepts. Some of the theories that we have gone over kind of make sense but when you have the whole group and/or the whole class expressing their opinion, than the full perspective comes across.
Since we are now well into the course and have had a couple RATs, my opinions about team based learning have gone up. At first when I learned we were going to do team based learning, I was a little skeptical. I've been on sports teams since middle school and never had good experiences. But after doing an RAT by myself, and then with my team actually really helps me learn. If I get something wrong or put something different than one of my teammates, they explain to me their theory behind the answer they choose. It's helpful to hear someone else's view on the same exact thing and see how different it is from mine.
Today in class when we took our RAT's, I got a few wrong on the individual one. But when we took the team RAT, we answered all the questions right. When we get in our groups to do the RAT's, I learn more because together we come up with a group consensus as to what the best answer is. For example, individually I got the question that had to deal with what the dependent variable in one study was, wrong. When we talked about it as a group, I understood what the correct answer should have been.
While I do see the benefits of team based learning in some areas (such as Team RAT's), I felt it was somewhat of a hindrance at times. For example, I felt like the group activities were frustrating. I actually thought that all the assignments given were very straight forward and extremely reasonable yet it took my group way too long to complete them, there always seemed to be confusion, and I felt like our performance could have been better. I would have honestly preferred an individual activity and I felt that I could have performed much better as an individual. There are some parts of team based learning that I enjoyed and I feel are helpful but I think the class might be more effective if there was more individual parts of the course.
The team-based learning has helped me to become more accountable for my school work. I have found myself reading more in this class than in others previously. Due to the fact that we are unsure of what question will be asked, we must read all of the text in order to be prepared. I understand that this is probably something I should have been doing for years, but who are we kidding? This is different though because I am also partly responsible for the grades of other individuals.
At the beginning we didn't really communicate that well but have developed into a very strong group. When we face an answer on an TRAT that we disagreed on we used to vote on the right answer, now we talk it out and everyone who had a separate answer explains why they put that, and the one with the best explanation is the one with we go with. Just like the activities we do in class the one with the best explanation is the one we choose. We have become very good at discussing topics and coming to a conclusion.
-----Original Message-----
From: Team-Based Learning [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Patty-Jeanne Slaughter
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 9:32 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Notes from the field
Jennifer and Sandy - I think your comments "hit the mark!" I have had similar, mixed reactions from students. Most, while skeptical at first, love TBL at the end of the semester. I have found that those who dislike TBL are students who want to be spoon fed and dislike the idea of being responsible for their own learning. (On Senior Exit Surveys several students have commented that they like the professors who "tell them what they need to learn" and who "don't teach them anything they don't need to know."- these types of students will probably never be TBL fans :D).
I "frontload" a lot of information on the first and second days of class about the TBL process and have each group develop Team Contracts where they establish the "ground rules" and expectations for team behavior. In the end, there will probably always be a small percentage of students who don't embrace TBL - no matter what we do.
- Patty
Patty-Jeanne Slaughter, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Chair, Department of Behavioral Sciences
316 Boulevard,
Anderson, SC, 29621
Phone: 864-231-2166
[log in to unmask]<https://aumail.andersonuniversity.edu/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx<mailto:[log in to unmask]<https://aumail.andersonuniversity.edu/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx>>
http://www.andersonuniversity.edu
________________________________
From: Team-Based Learning [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jennifer Imazeki [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2012 10:34 PM
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Notes from the field
These responses (including the mix of mostly positive with a couple negative) sound very much like what I get/have gotten from my students every semester. It seems there are always a couple (sometimes more) that simply WANT to be lectured at and don't like that they have to 'teach themselves' so much. My impression is that the students who are most resistant are those who are actually "good students" in traditional classes and their resistance to TBL stems from the fact that they have largely figured out how to do well in traditional classes with minimal effort, to regurgitate whatever their teachers have said in lecture, but TBL forces them to actually think for themselves. I had one such student this semester who spoke to me about halfway through the semester and actually said, "I don't think it's fair that I have to take this class [it's required for majors] but you're the only one teaching it so I don't have the opportunity to take a 'normal' class. I get As in regular le cture cl
I don't think it's about preparing students for the experience - I have a lot of students who say they were really skeptical at the beginning but they now understand how much more they learn with the team approach. I've also asked a lot of students what more I can do to prepare them at the beginning and they tell me they don't think there's much more I can do, that I was very clear from the first day but they had to sort of 'see it in action' before it really sunk in. I've mostly just accepted that you can't please all of the people all of the time but as long as it's only one or two in each class that don't "get it" (and the positive responses from students far, far outweigh the negative), I feel like it's still vastly better than what I used to do.
Jennifer
****************************
Jennifer Imazeki
Department of Economics
San Diego State University
homepage: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~jimazeki/
Economics for Teachers blog: http://economicsforteachers.blogspot.com
On Tue, May 15, 2012 at 4:13 PM, Sandy Cook <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>> wrote:
What did you do about the one who really hated TBL, wanted to be lectured at, thought that was what you were being paid to do - s/he was not there to learn by him/herself! Is that an issue of preparing students for the experience or just the fact that there will be some who just don't get it, don't like it, and want to be spoon fed - no matter what you do?
Sandy Cook, PhD,
Assoc. Prof.
Senior Associate Dean
W: (65) 6516 8722
Administrative Executive: Belinda Yeo | [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> | 6516-8511
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From: Team-Based Learning [mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>]<mailto:[mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>]> On Behalf Of Herbert Coleman
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 2:17 AM
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Subject: Re: Notes from the field
Thanks, Gail, I'm so glad you picked up on that. Two students actually mentioned this. I was thinking of a group share where a rep from each team forms a temporary group for research or TRAT then reports back to their permanent teams and have that rotate through each unit. It hasn't fully gelled so that's why I'm sharing with the group.
On Tue, May 15, 2012 at 12:45 PM, FEIGENBAUM, GAIL <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>> wrote:
Nice journal assignment and prompt, Herb. Interesting student responses as well.
I was thinking about one of the comments....that the student didn't know others on the other side of the room.........
...
Since students have a large lab skill component, I often assign partners that are not team members....as students will perform skills on many different patients in the clinical setting.
...
--
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]<mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
512-223-7746<tel:512-223-7746>
*************************************************
Don't Think Small
"Arthur: It would have to be a 747.
Cobb: Why is that?
Arthur: Because on a 747 the pilot is up top, and the first
class cabin is in the nose, so no one would walk through. But you'd have
to buy out the entire cabin. And the first class flight attendant.
Saito: I bought the airline.....It seemed neater."
From the motion picture Inception
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAm_Cp3OKik
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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]<mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
512-223-7746<tel:512-223-7746>
*************************************************
Don't Think Small
"Arthur: It would have to be a 747.
Cobb: Why is that?
Arthur: Because on a 747 the pilot is up top, and the first
class cabin is in the nose, so no one would walk through. But you'd have
to buy out the entire cabin. And the first class flight attendant.
Saito: I bought the airline.....It seemed neater."
From the motion picture Inception
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAm_Cp3OKik
*************************************************
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