Aloha,

My attitude is that if you're not there to help the team, you don't get any points. Pure and simple. Otherwise, as you've noted, there's no incentive to be there. It also sends a message to the people who do show up.  It tells them that their attendance isn't important. 

Cheers, Tom

Tom DeWitt Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Marketing
College of Business and Economics
University of Hawaii - Hilo
200 W. Kawili St.
Hilo, HI  96720

Phone:  (808) 974-7384




----- Original Message -----
From: Christine Kuramoto <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Monday, April 19, 2010 19:06
Subject: absent team members
To: [log in to unmask]

> Dear Friends,
> 
> I have a question about absent team members.  In the past 
> I've always 
> given students the tRAT score from their team when they missed a 
> RAT day 
> and a 0 for the iRAT. I'm teaching the same 100 students in 
> their second 
> round of TBL and notice the same guys tend to skip class as the 
> last 
> time. My students had a tendency to be quite lenient on their 
> peer 
> evaluations, so the skippers got the team points and still got 
> pretty 
> good peer evaluations last year (with a few brave members 
> commenting 
> "you should come to class more" but still not lowering their 
> scores much).
> 
> I'm beginning to wonder if I should step in and say that absent 
> students 
> won't get the team score for the tRAT. The tRATs are what saved 
> a few of 
> them from failing last year. Am I teaching them that it's OK to 
> be lazy 
> and let your team take responsibility for it? Or should I be 
> looking at 
> the bigger picture that says, "See team! You have the power to 
> let them 
> sink or save them. It's up to you."--which is then teaching them 
> the 
> responsibility of being part of a team and what the real world 
> is like.
> 
> Hmmmmm. . .
> 
> Please let me know what you think.
> 
> Thanks!
> Christine
> 
> -- 
> *******
> Christine Kuramoto, Assistant Professor: Medical English
> Kyushu University, Department of Medical Education
> Faculty of Medical Sciences
> 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582 Japan
> Phone: (+81)92-642-6186 Fax: (+81)92-642-6188
> E-mail: [log in to unmask]