To my surprise, last semester, students who were more quite in their
groups (usually international students) generally were far more vocal
when called upon to represent their group.
Sibley, Jim wrote:
> Hi
>
> When you introduce TBL you could do a fishbowl role play demonstrating drawing out the quiet student
>
> this is used in the PBL program at UBC Med first day....they demo both good and bad behaviours
>
> You might also walk them thru the literature about teams outperforming the individual and suggest that excluding someone from the group will likely lead to a lower quality team performance....and suggest it is a life skill worth developing...especially in Law
>
> If the problem is consistent and you run out of ideas....try talking chips....every group member gets 2 chips....toss a chip in every time you speak....can't talk without chips
>
> The other possibility is in the public report call on a variety of students from the teams (including the quiet students)....if the quiet one is going to represent my team I might be more interested in engaging them in the conversation to get them ready
>
>
>
> Jim Sibley
> Centre for Instructional Support
> Faculty of Applied Science
> University of British Columbia
> 604-822-9241
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Team-Based Learning on behalf of Sophie Sparrow
> Sent: Tue 01/27/2009 2:23 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: TBL - teammate conflicts and culture
>
> Hi all,
>
> I have been using TBL in some law school courses starting a year ago. In a few classes, the teams have not gelled. In several of these instances I've seen that some students of color and some ESL students seem to participate less than their teammates, and that their teammates' assessment of them at the end of the semester reflects the impression that those who participate less - speak less, volunteer less - receive lower evaluations from their peers.
>
> Some students have told me that they have felt not listened to by the majority in the team. For example, if the majority of the team are native English speakers who rapidly analyze concepts verbally, they may lack the patience to wait while a non-native English speaker takes the time to formulate and state ideas. Similarly, those whose cultural backgrounds incline them to be more reserved have been assumed by their peers to be disengaged, when in fact, they come from cultures where questioning others is considered disrespectful. I think for other reasons, some students do not feel safe taking risks when they are in the minority.
>
> Suggestions about how to help teams work on these issues?
>
> Thanks very much -
> Sophie
>
> Sophie M. Sparrow
> Professor of Law
> Franklin Pierce Law Center
> 2 White Street
> Concord, NH 03301
> 603-513-5205
> 603.225-9647 FAX
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
--
Herb Coleman,Director
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]
512-223-7746
*************************************************
“I, and every other professor on this campus, are
here to help you to find, take back, and keep your
righteous mind.”
---Professor Melvin Tolson
from the motion picture "The Great Debaters"
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