Dear Michael,
My answer is a clear yes but, with one caveat. They should NOT be difficult
because they are "picky" because they focus on details they wouldn't
remember beyond the end of the course anyway or that they could look up in
a heartbeat. Make the questions hard because they require a deep
understanding of key issues. The best way to go about picking questions, is
to be serious about using backwards design. Make sure that your questions
are about what they REALLY need to know to do what you want them to do.
Also, remember that during the applications (as in life) they will have
access to their books and, in many cases, the internet so they can look up
the details. Thus, you are reinforcing the process they will be engaging in
when they get to the workplace.
Larry
On Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 11:00 AM, Pollak, Michael <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> *Ethical conundrum*: I told my students that the purpose of a RAT is to
> assure that they understand the basic concepts of the assigned readings, so
> that we can go on to apply those concepts in class exercises. This
> suggested to them that they need not study the material as intensively as
> they would for a regular course exam. Shouldn’t I then create an iRAT on
> which a student who does the reading according to the reading guide will
> score 100%? But, if most conscientious students score 100% on the iRAT,
> why do I need the tRAT? It seems that, in order to justify the team
> process, I need to test them on the iRAT beyond the basic level at which I
> led them to study. Isn’t this deceptive? ****
>
> ** **
>
> *Context*: I just completed teaching my first TBL course. I converted
> my Clinical Epidemiology course for first year medical students to the TBL
> format. I followed standard TBL procedures as closely as possible,
> including iRATs followed by tRAT using IF_At answer cards. Students who
> did not score 100% on an iRAT were upset. I reassured them by telling them
> that I did not expect them to score perfectly and that missing some of the
> questions did not reflect on their adequacy as medical students. If they
> were perfect on the iRAT, then there would be no need for the tRAT. The
> students replied that they did not think it fair to ask them questions *that
> count towards grades* that I did not think they could answer correctly
> during the iRAT. In other words, I set them up to fail, or to not be able
> to excel, which for many medical students is the same thing. ****
>
> ** **
>
> I would appreciate your insights on this issue. ****
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ****
>
> *Michael Pollak, Ph.D.*
>
> *Professor of Behavioral Sciences*
>
> *Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences*
>
> *[log in to unmask]*
>
> *918.561.8426*
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
--
*******************************
Larry K. Michaelsen, Professor of Management
Dockery 400G, University of Central Missouri
Warrensburg, MO 64093
660/429-9873 voice/cell phone, 660/543-8465 fax
For info on:
Team-Based Learning (TBL) <www.teambasedlearning.org>
Integrative Business Experience (IBE) <http://faculty.ucmo.edu/ibe/home.html
>
*******************************
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