Hello Kathryn!
After doing TBL for a few years (5 I think), I have found that what works
best in my classroom is switching teams up half way through the term. On
one occasion I realized too late that there was a toxic group (2 people
accusing each other of verbal abuse that blew up right before class one day
in week 10), and also noticing other teams falling into "we know who will
do the work, so we don't need to, regardless of how it looks on peer
evaluations". Switching teams up has been beneficial in breaking up cliques
(clicks) that form, and also disrupts student apathy. I know this midterm
team switch up goes against the typical practice, but I have found it helps
the effectiveness of the learning.
Good luck!
-Michelle
On Tue, Jan 3, 2017 at 10:08 AM, Kathryn McKnight <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I have been using TBL for 10+ years and love it.
>
> This past fall for the first time, I ended up with one team that had two
> brilliant, dedicated students and four non-readers, three of whom barely
> spoke in class. That was a first for me. The class is an advanced UG course
> in Spanish American literature that fulfills a requirement for the major. I
> considered reshuffling teams, but after checking in with the two really
> dedicated students I felt they were willing to take on the challenge. They
> ended up learning and growing tremendously and they didn’t resent the team,
> although they did express some discontent in their team evaluations. Still,
> they could have had a much richer learning experience had I reshuffled. I
> met with the other fours students to try to motivate them, but it never
> took hold. Two didn’t have the skills to read well; two didn’t have the
> priorities.
>
> I feel I got lucky that the two dedicated students were such good sports.
> But, thinking about it for next time…. Is there ever a time you have
> decided to reshuffle teams after the first week or two because the
> random/diversity-distribution team-formation process just didn’t turn out
> well? And, relatedly, are there questions you have found you can ask in the
> team-creating process that get at characteristics related to social-loafing
> tendencies without straight-out asking for students’ past grades or study
> habits?
>
> Thanks!
> Kathy
>
> Kathryn McKnight
>
> Associate Professor
>
> Department of Spanish and Portuguese
>
> MSC 03 2100
>
> 1 University of New Mexico
>
> Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
>
> Department: (505) 277-5907
>
> http://spanport.unm.edu/about/people/kathryn-mcknight.html
>
>
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