Hi Lara We usually do about 2 week chunks (6 meeting hours).....usually 5-6 RATs a semester....20 question RATs (1/3 knowledge/recall, 2/3 simple application)....based on 50-60 pages or a couple of text book chapters....the reading are prep for the entire two week chunk Use IF-ATs! They are a must! Accountability and Social Loafing The IRAT provides individual accountability for doing the readings The GRAT provides accountability and social pressure from your team to come prepared Peer Evaluation provides the last social accountability to prevent social loafing and make sure students come prepared to help their team Use Reading Guides We provide reading guides....sometimes just prompting questions student need to answer during reading.....sometimes just objectives........sometimes we create a reading plan to help students learn how to read like "experts"....depends of content area Pre-RAT In-class Activities Some of my instructors will allow a few minutes of questions before the RAT....otherwise no pre-RAT in-class activities You will get some complaints early on about testing before teaching (from a small number of students)....carefully explaining your rationales and expectations can help with this Hope this helps Jim _________________________________________________ Jim Sibley Director Centre for Instructional Support Faculty of Applied Science University of British Columbia 2208-6250 Applied Science Lane Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4 Phone 604.822.9241 Fax 604.822.7006 Email: [log in to unmask] Web: www.learning.apsc.ubc.ca <http://www.learning.apsc.ubc.ca/> Blog: Adventures in Instructional Support: http://ipeer.apsc.ubc.ca/wordpress/ e-Portfolio: http://ipeer.apsc.ubc.ca/wiki/index.php/Jim_Sibley_Portfolio ________________________________________________ (c) Copyright 2008, Jim Sibley, All rights reserved The information contained in this e-mail message and any attachments (collectively "message") is intended only for the personal and confidential use of the recipient (or recipients) named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this message in error and that any review, use, distribution, or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by e-mail, and delete the original message. ___________________________________________________ -----Original Message----- From: Team Learning Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lara Triona Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 8:57 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: distributing readings & RAT Hello, My question is related to the distribution of course reading materials and the RAT. Too-frequent use of the RAT causes students to memorize rather than apply concepts. Therefore, each RAT covers a unit, which in my case would be a few chapters worth of material. However, I am concerned that it is inappropriate to assign more than one chapter for prereading for a single class session, especially for the second class session. How do those of you currently using TBL techniques organize reading assignments? * Do you cover only six chapters? * Assign multiple chapters for prereading for RAT days? * Do other in-class activities before first RAT? I appreciate information about your experience and any suggestions you can give. A bit about myself: I am an assistant professor in psychology. I was recently was introduced to "Team-Based Learning" (TBL) techniques through the Academe newsletter, Sweet & Michaelson 07 Ed Psy Rev article, and the teambasedlearning.org website. For the past year, prior to learning about the TBL techniques, the primary use of class time has been in discussion groups (same group for 8 weeks, assigning roles which change each session based on Millis & Cottell 1998). But I have encountered some of the problems that are addressed by TBL (social loafing, lack of engagement/excitement). I am interested in using TBL techniques (RAT & application activities) to help students actively engage with the course material (upper division developmental psych & lower division research methods). In the past, to enforce class preparation I required completion of an individual assignment for every chapter (answering several questions that guide student's reading). In class students would discuss "thought-provoking" questions that applied or extended the material from that chapter and then the next class session we would move onto the next chapter. I now realize that the repetitive nature of this class organization taxes students motivation and leads to burnout for both the students and myself. In addition to this content coverage in class, students apply content by conducting a separate group/individual research project: in groups students design study, collect data, and analyze findings and then individually write a research report. best regards, -Lara ___________________ Lara M. Triona, Ph.D. Assistant Professor CSU Fresno, Psychology Department 2576 E. San Ramon ST11 Fresno, CA 93740 [log in to unmask] office: 559.278-3043 fax: 559.278-7910 http://psych.csufresno.edu/