I have finally finished teaching a six-week biology course in which I used the IF-AT forms you generously gave me. Below are the summary of my experience in using the form for group works.

1. I divided students into permanent groups in the first day of the class. This was good. Students got to know one another and felt comfortable discussing with one another and working with one another through the course of six weeks. Their discussion also were much more in depth than the usual indifference that I often saw in a large class (part of the reason being that some marks were usually associated with their activities).

I used IF-AT forms for preview quizzes in which students were tested for their reading and understanding of specific text before the lecture corresponding to the text.was given. They first did an individual quiz and worked in groups immediately afterward on the same set of questions, using IF-AT forms. The greatest advantage I saw in IF-AT form was that students got immediate feedback on whether or not they got a question correctly. This saved me time for having to go over the questions to provide correct answers. Students were really on it when they were discussing as they knew their marks were on the line.

Overall I found the IF-AT form to be a wonderful tool for testing students; the challenge, as always, is to write the right kinds of questions that show whether or not students read the text (as well as whether or not they understand what they read). Students certainly protested, arguing with me on some of the questions I wrote (therefore the appeal process that I implemented).

I did not use IF-AT form for a post-quiz in which I tested students for their understanding of certain concepts after a lecture, mainly because I ran out of time near the end of the course. I definitely saw students becoming much more engaged during discussions. I also like to think that IF-AT forms actually discouraged some dominant students in groups from being so aggressive in pushing their ideas. Unfortunately, I did not use a randomized method when dividing students into permanent groups. Rather, I had students sitting close to one another form groups in the first day of the class. This resulted in a couple of groups ended up with very weak students (and a couple of groups with all strong students) as they were all sitting together. This is something that I would definitely change if I were to do it over again.

Perhaps because I was short in time, I did not give them plenty of time to discuss the questions during their group quizzes. Some students informed me later that their groups were rushing to get it over with instead of discussing questions thoroughly before deciding on an answer. In the future, I probably will still spend a few minutes going over more difficult questions after a group quiz to ensure that students know why an answer is correct and why others are not even if I used the IF-AT forms which provide immediate feedback.

In my class, I adopted a lot of what you demonstrated at the Science Super series, including using a folder for each group. It worked out very well, especially when I wanted to distribute their quiz sheets (scantron sheets that each student would reuse over and over again), their group IF-AT sheet, and even their mid-term exams back. I simply asked one person from each group to come forward to get their own folder and in it was the materials I wanted to distribute.

Overall, I was glad that I tried out this IF-AT form this time in my class (of 80 students, as opposed to the nearly 200 students during the regular fall semester when the same course is offered). Thank you for giving me this opportunity to try out your form.

Chin

Chin Sun, Ph.D.,

Lab Faculty, First Year Biology Program

University of British Columbia

6270 University Boulevard

Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z4

Tel (604) 822-9227

Fax (604) 822-4157