Hello all,
I think I'm making progress!  I wanted to share something that I've just experienced about creating team assignments.  Last spring (my first using TBL in my Exercise Psychology class), I created a team assignment that gave the students a set of 4 hypothetical people (with different characteristics) and their task was to use what they'd learned to predict who would be most likely to drop out of an exercise program.  After some discussion, the teams shared their choices (using index cards with names written on them).  They all chose he same person and there was little discussion.  I felt that the assignment fell sort of flat b/c of the lack of inter-team discussion. 
 
After sharing my experience with the list over the summer (and watching Michaelsen's team activities video again), I decided to break up the assignment this time around.  I took the 4 hypothetical people and wrote up separate descriptions of their demographic characteristics and then added multiple choice type answers underneath the descriptive paragraphs.  I put them on overheads and went through them with the teams making decisions on each one separately and indicating their choices with index cards.  I also (at Michaelsen and a couple of other people's suggestion) asked them to defend their choices.  I thought the whole thing went much better.  There was both within and between group discussion!  And even when they did choose the same answer, talking about why they did was fruitful.  Karla 
 
Examples from Chapter 2 Team Activities

Tonya is a 25 year old, African-American female.  She is from an upper income family and she has a MBA.  She is currently working for a major financial corporation in Washington, DC.  Choose the most likely option.   

a.  Tonya is currently inactive and will remain inactive throughout her young adulthood.

b.  Tonya is currently active and will remain active throughout her young adulthood.

c.  Tonya is currently inactive but will become active at some point during her young adulthood.

d.  Tonya is currently active but will become inactive at some point during her young adulthood.

 

Maria is a 6-year-old, Hispanic-American female.  She lives in California.  Her parents are low income and sedentary.  Choose the most likely option. 

a.  Maria is currently inactive and will remain inactive throughout her childhood.

b.  Maria is currently active and will remain active throughout her childhood.

c.  Maria is currently inactive but will become active at some point during her childhood.

d.  Maria is currently active but will become inactive at some point during her childhood.

 

Examples from Chapter 1 Team Activities

Dr. Smith wants to do a study on the effects of ‘TV-Turnoff Week’ on physical activity levels in college students.  She would like to collect data from as many students as she can and she has a very limited budget for the study.  Choose the best way to measure physical activity in the situation described.

a.  Seven-Day Recall

b.  SPARK Questionnaire

c.  Heart rate monitor

d.  Pedometer

e.  Direct observation

 

Dr. Turner runs a university-affiliated cardiac rehabilitation facility.  In order to solicit additional funding from her University for new equipment, she needs to document the need for it.  She would like to record physical activity levels in the facility at various times during the day.  Choose the best way to measure physical activity in the situation described.

a.  Seven-Day Recall

b.  SPARK Questionnaire

c.  Heart rate monitor

d.  Pedometer

e.  Direct observation