Hi Melisa Welcome to the list serve I want to pickup on "should my RAT cover all the readings or can they just cover a portion" Make sure you are clear in your own mind what RAT's are for…there primary purpose is to get students ready for the activities that follow…..not test that they do all the readings…..In a well constructed test you get the sense from the flow and organization of the questions are preparing you for something specific….I didn't understand this till Sarah Mahler pointed me at the RAT Larry Michaelsen uses in his TBL 101 workshops….you look at that RAT….and it is very clear what he is preparing his students for a semester of TBL (that RAT is attached) Backwards design….leads us back from what we want students to be able to do….what they need to know to be ready (readiness generated during RAT)….and what specifically they need to read to be ready for the RAT That's why many people may assign a whole chapter….but have a reading guide that focuses student attention on the important pieces jim -- Jim Sibley Director Centre for Instructional Support Faculty of Applied Science University of British Columbia 2205-6250 Applied Science Lane Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4 Phone 604.822.9241 Fax 604.822.7006 Email: [log in to unmask]<applewebdata:[log in to unmask]> Check out http://<http://cis.apsc.ubc.ca/>www.teambasedlearning.org © Copyright 2013, 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 in error, please notify the sender immediately by e-mail, and delete the meesage. From: Melisa Kaye <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> Reply-To: Melisa Kaye <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> Date: Thursday, January 24, 2013 9:13 AM To: "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> Subject: New to TBL Hello, I'm happy to have found this forum! I have used PBL and small portions of TBL for a few years in teaching occupational therapy (OT) curricula. This semester will be my first foray into committing to the full TBL framework. I am excited, as I am committed to engaging my students and furthering their clinical reasoning/critical thinking skills-- but I also have a fair amount of trepidation about the amount of work required and the fact that no one in my dept. utilizes TBL (so I am on my own). Any feedback and mentoring would be most welcome. The course is Educational Principles and Practices in OT. It meets for 150 min once/week for 16 weeks. I'll be teaching one section of grad students and one of undergrads (20-25 per class). I have read the TBL for health professionals and TBL for social sciences/humanities texts, as well as a number of articles by Michaelsen, Sweet, Parmalee, etc. I've also been using an adapted RAP (with the "scratcher" answer cards) for a several semesters with great results. In preparation for this class, I formulated course learning goals with a "backwards" approach-- which was very helpful and illuminating. I've also somewhat reworked my units to reflect the TBL approach. I had my first class a couple of days ago, and am a bit unclear on a couple of things-- 1. Time management for the day-- I need to fit IRAT, GRAT, content clarification, and a learning activity into 2-1/2 hours. It's challenging. I'll be using 10 question RATs, but am wondering about the flow of all that in my once weekly class. 2. Do the RATs typically include a survey of all the required readings, or can they focus on particular prioritized portions of content, and the students then utilize the additional reading content during the activity time? 3. I'm wondering about sources for activity ideas. Also, do students typically read the background info for the activity while in class, or is the reading an out of class requirement? Or should the required reading for the RAT comprise the total of info necessary for the activity? I used a "take a position and defend it using research evidence" activity this week, and next week I am thinking of an examination of assertions made in a research article (concerning health literacy). Not sure if I'm on the "right track"-- I've also used case studies as a foundation for activities in the past. The big change this semester is that I am using the 4 "S" format for the first time. Thanks in advance for any replies or input. Looking forward to this new adventure. Melisa Kaye, MS, OTR/L Dominican University of California