These responses (including the mix of mostly positive with a couple
negative) sound very much like what I get/have gotten from my students
every semester. It seems there are always a couple (sometimes more) that
simply WANT to be lectured at and don't like that they have to 'teach
themselves' so much. My impression is that the students who are most
resistant are those who are actually "good students" in traditional classes
and their resistance to TBL stems from the fact that they have largely
figured out how to do well in traditional classes with minimal effort, to
regurgitate whatever their teachers have said in lecture, but TBL forces
them to actually think for themselves. I had one such student this semester
who spoke to me about halfway through the semester and actually said, "I
don't think it's fair that I have to take this class [it's required for
majors] but you're the only one teaching it so I don't have the opportunity
to take a 'normal' class. I get As in regular lecture classes and it isn't
fair that my grade is going to suffer because of the way you teach." So I
asked him, "But using that logic, how is it any more or less fair that a
bunch of your classmates, who seem to learn better in this team
environment, are forced to sit through lecture classes with other
professors?" Of course he just stared at me in confusion...

I don't think it's about preparing students for the experience - I have a
lot of students who say they were really skeptical at the beginning but
they now understand how much more they learn with the team approach. I've
also asked a lot of students what more I can do to prepare them at the
beginning and they tell me they don't think there's much more I can do,
that I was very clear from the first day but they had to sort of 'see it in
action' before it really sunk in. I've mostly just accepted that you can't
please all of the people all of the time but as long as it's only one or
two in each class that don't "get it" (and the positive responses from
students far, far outweigh the negative), I feel like it's still vastly
better than what I used to do.

Jennifer
****************************
Jennifer Imazeki
Department of Economics
San Diego State University
homepage: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~jimazeki/
Economics for Teachers blog: http://economicsforteachers.blogspot.com



On Tue, May 15, 2012 at 4:13 PM, Sandy Cook <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> What did you do about the one who really hated TBL, wanted to be lectured
> at, thought that was what you were being paid to do – s/he was not there to
> learn by him/herself!  Is that an issue of preparing students for the
> experience or just the fact that there will be some who just don’t get it,
> don’t like it, and want to be spoon fed – no matter what you do?****
>
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> *From:* Team-Based Learning [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On
> Behalf Of *Herbert Coleman
> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 16, 2012 2:17 AM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: Notes from the field****
>
> ** **
>
> Thanks, Gail, I'm so glad you picked up on that.  Two students actually
> mentioned this.  I was thinking of a group share where a rep from each team
> forms a temporary group for research or TRAT then reports back to their
> permanent teams and have that rotate through each unit.  It hasn't fully
> gelled so that's why I'm sharing with the group. ****
>
> On Tue, May 15, 2012 at 12:45 PM, FEIGENBAUM, GAIL <[log in to unmask]> wrote:*
> ***
>
> Nice journal assignment and prompt, Herb.  Interesting student responses
> as well.****
>
>  ****
>
> I was thinking about one of the comments....that the student didn't know
> others on the other side of the room.........****
>
>  ****
>
> ...****
>
>  ****
>
> Since students have a large lab skill component, I often assign partners
> that are not team members....as students will perform skills on many
> different patients in the clinical setting.****
>
>  ****
>
> ...****
>
>
>
> -- ****
>
> Herb Coleman, Ph.D
> Dir. Instructional Computing and Technology
> Adjunct Professor of Psychology
> Austin Community College
> Highland Business Center
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> to buy out the entire cabin. And the first class flight attendant.*
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> Saito*: I bought the airline.....It seemed neater."
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> Herb Coleman, Ph.D
> Dir. Instructional Computing and Technology
> Adjunct Professor of Psychology
> Austin Community College
> Highland Business Center
>
> ****
>
> 5930 Middle Fiskville Rd.
> Austin, TX 78752
> [log in to unmask]
> 512-223-7746
> *************************************************
> Don't Think Small
>
> ****
>
>
> "*Arthur*: It would have to be a 747.*
> Cobb*: Why is that?*
> Arthur*: Because on a 747 the pilot is up top, and the first ****
>
> class cabin is in the nose, so no one would walk through. But you'd have****
>
> to buy out the entire cabin. And the first class flight attendant.*
>
> Saito*: I bought the airline.....It seemed neater."
>
> From the motion picture Inception
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAm_Cp3OKik
>
> ****
>
> *****************************************************
>
> ** **
>