Now, what to do about this class?? I would first maybe carve out some time to revisit your 1st day orientation to TBL and the research/rationale behind it - the highlights if you will. I would also encourage you to emphasize the "What's in it for them" aspect. After the first RAT, hopefully there is some tentative data indicating that the team scores are better than individual scores? If so, break out those stats and illustrate what the numbers are saying in helping students grades. I simply average their individual RATs with the team RATs, and the average is the only number that goes in the grade book for a given RAT. Hopefully, also, you are using a team folder where they are recording this data for themselves. Urge some patience and to give TBL a try and that one place they can see the benefits to their grade is the team folder each week. Also, maybe a mini-lesson on the difference between FORMATIVE "forward looking" assessments and traditional SUMMATIVE backward looking assessments?

Next, make clear the connections between their RAT results and how you are using that to "customizing" the next class session(s). Powerpoint has a tool where you can insert a bar chart for a slide, and I use this to open the class following a RAT and show how the class' performance on specific questions will influence how much/little activities/time we devote to what.

Another way to hopefully defuse the RAT tension that I have done to what I feel is some success, is to start out with an exercise to focus on their initial questions. The weekend before a RAT, I have the students post in Blackboard their "muddiest Points" form the readings. That Tuesday, we then start class with a powerpoint slide that compiles the most common questions. Then each team has to pick 1-2 muddy points and go into the text to come up with an answer. After the teams report out, I will briefly respond to any confusion/inaccuracies in the team responses. Then I give them 3-5 minutes as a team to go through the RAT study guides I gave them last session before the weekend. Then I administer the RATs. So it is not being didactic about the content before the quiz, but focused on getting some initial questions answered and then comparing notes on their study guide notes. Even still, through 1 minute paper feedback at the end of class, I still find that I need to keep reminding them about the FORMATIVE nature of the RATs.

One final idea is to do away with the team challenges after the RAT. This probably highlights my short comings, but I have found the challenges create an adversarial environment that leads to drawn out confrontations more often than not. If teams invest the time in writing the challenge, more often than not, they will be highly motivated to get something for their work, even if it is just derailing/disrupting class time on a lost cause.

"Remember, I'm pulling for you... we're all in this together. Keep your stick on the ice." -Red Green

On Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 10:34 AM, Marla <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hello-

I am an adjunct psychology professor at a local university. I have been teaching the same class for 6 years and just this semester decided to try TBL. I thought it was going well until I asked for feedback from the class after their first RAT - it turned it to a 30 minute discussion where about 8 students became very hostile towards me (saying that the questions were too hard, they understood the readings but shouldn't be held accountable to synthesize the material before we even talked about it in class, they wanted to re-visit the distribution of grades and when I said 'no' they said that was unfair, etc.). One student is still arguing with me about one question that their team appealed which I denied (this is 1 point among many for the semester). While I love the idea of TBL, I am tempted to resort to the boring-yet-familiar lecture. These students' whining is really wearing on me and instead of enjoying teaching (it is a part-time job I do, and certainly NOT for the money) I am counting the days until the semester is over.

Any advice, words of encouragement, etc. would be very much appreciated at this point!

Thanks.