Ken,
I totally agree with Josie and Jim. There is NO way to fix an out-of-class
assignment. Most groups WILL divide up the work because it is so difficult
to meet that the only way to get it done is for individuals to either take
turns or do parts. The bad thing is that the set of conditions created by
out-of-class assignments ALWAYS reduces learning AND results in
free-riders.
The other problem with the current assignment is that it is a case where
"more is less" and doesn't meet any of the 4-S criteria. Even if you
brought it into class so that students would be aware that they were
working on the same problem and you could do a simultaneous report so that
it fit 2 or the S's, it still wouldn't work for two reasons. One is that I
don't think a task that general (pick 6 or 8 topics out of several
chapters...--it is NOT a specific choice) would be seen by students as
being significant. I'd bet that if you had students rate the assignment on
a scale of 1 (busy-work) to 10 (significant) most would rate it 2 or lower.
Also, assuming that each of the groups actually did a great job and created
a "gallery walk", it would take several posters per team to represent their
work. The net effect is that the walls of the classroom would be completely
covered and it would take so long for students to figure out what issues
needed to be discussed that there wouldn't be time to discuss them. That's
why it's so important to require students to make a specific choice. For
example, you might give them a specific business situate (e.g. a current
news report of company with a specific problem) and have students choose
THE topic that most likely got the company into trouble in the first place
and/or the topic that the company CEO would benefit most from knowing
about. Asking for a specific choice would both create the thinking and
discussion within the teams and create a lively discussion after a
simultaneous report.
I hope this helps.
Larry
On Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 10:24 PM, Sibley, James Edward <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Hi Ken
>
> This is often the problem with product based out of class assignments.
>
> If you are an A student and I am a C student....why not sit back and let
> you get me an A.
>
> We can add peer evaluation to the mix...but it usually doesn't have enough
> teeth to make sure the freeloader gets a fair..low grade
>
> In the cooperative/ collaborative world this kind of team dysfunction is
> all too common.
>
> The issue is often with assignments that focus on product generation and
> not decision making. Groups are often not very good at building large
> products but can make difficult decisions together (think of the work of a
> courtroom jury in a difficult case)
>
> Maybe you could consider bring the assignment into class and changing
> focus to decision making/discrimination.
>
> ###################
>
> You could probably use something like Sophie Sparrow and Margaret Sova
> McCabe showed at the great workshop at the TBL conference in Austin
>
> It would look like this
>
> students individually prepare 6-8 key topics
>
> they bring 2 copies to class
>
> you collect one (this is only cursorily marked....just check mark....you
> tried)
>
> then you do an in class activity where teams distill all their individual
> work into a group compilation...maybe even with some focusing....top 4
> topics and why
>
> you collect the team compilation and mark it more carefully and add it to
> the cursory participation mark from having submitted individual
>
> #############################
>
> You want to have class activities that build/incorporate their out of
> class work (the out of class work is most often individual)
>
> For a short explanation of problem solving in TBL...you can visit my
> website at
>
> http://learntbl.ca/what-is-tbl/structured-problem-solving/
>
> take care
>
> jim
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Team-Based Learning [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of
> Ken Gunnells [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2014 7:57 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Problem assignment in a new class
>
> I have a problem with an assignment in my face-to-face Management
> Information Systems
> class. At the end of each 2-week module, the current out-of-class
> assignment has student
> teams creating a summary of the key topics from the chapters and cases in
> the module.
> They are supposed to relate each of approximately 6-8 key topics to the
> theme of the
> module, demonstrate an understanding of the topic, and give examples of
> how businesses
> have used or can use the topics to compete in the market place. The goals
> are for students
> to be able to separate the important from the less important, and to give
> them the tools to
> make better decisions in the future. The problem with this assignment is
> that teams have
> taken a divide and conquer approach, and freeloading has become a problem,
> even in the
> face of impending peer evaluations. I am also getting brain dumps and
> summaries of entire
> chapters and cases, instead of the summaries of a few key topics. In order
> to reach my
> goals for the assignment and to eliminate the freeloading problem, I need
> your help to
> redesign it while I still have 3 modules yet to cover. If I could somehow
> find a way to
> revise the assignment then I am confident I could dramatically improve the
> class.
>
> Ken Gunnells, Ph.D.
> COLLAT School of Business, Management Information Systems & Quantitative
> Methods
> UAB | The University of Alabama at Birmingham
> 205-222-0871
> [log in to unmask]
>
--
*******************************
Larry K. Michaelsen, Professor of Management
Dockery 400G, University of Central Missouri
Warrensburg, MO 64093
660/864-6497 cell, 660/543-8465 fax
For info on:
Team-Based Learning (TBL) <www.teambasedlearning.org>
Integrative Business Experience (IBE) <
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7Y_Hrl6iRs&feature=youtu.bel
<http://faculty.ucmo.edu/ibe/home.html>>
*******************************
|
