June, If you are like most of us, you want two things. One is having students truly understand the issues. The other is that you want to improve the quality of your questions (and are willing to grant appeals that would help you do it.) On the other hand, what you don't want to have happen is to get "ganged-up" on by the class. Assuming that's true AND assuming that the "problem" students are clearly a minority, I have a potential suggestion for your "Review" session that I think would be worth trying. It involves using your teams to help with both improving the questions and "educating" the students who are simply trying to get the points but, don't really have a good foundation for their position. SOMETHING TO TRY I'd still allow the students to create their index cards and their appeals but not ask for the appeals to be submitted until AFTER the review session. At the beginning of the review session, I'd make it clear that the PRIMARY purpose of the session was to ensure that everyone understood the concepts from the material that was tested and a SECONDARY purpose was to give class members who have appeals the opportunity to get feedback on their appeals so they could either decide that they weren't valid or discover how to make them more convincing. Then, I'd give the teams a chance to review the test and identify THE question they would most like to discuss as a class, do a simultaneous report and run the discussion much like an application activity. Finally, at the end of the class, I'd give instructions on how you want the appeals process to be handled. I would predict that: >the overall flavor of the session would be learning and problem solving not griping. >everyone, faculty included, would learn a lot--especially students who had unsupportable appeals. >a reasonably high percentage of potential appeals would end up not being submitted. >the team interaction would significantly reduce the extent to which "appealers" would be in an "attack" mode in their subsequent interaction with faculty. >the appeals that made it through would be much better thought out,(i.e., less emotional and more rational) >faculty would have the support of the class discussion if they still felt the appeals were ill supported Whatever you decide to do, I'd love to hear how it turns out. Larry On Tue, Jul 22, 2014 at 2:14 PM, June Johnson <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hi Paul, Thank you for taking time to reply. These are EXAM appeals, > referring to the 3 major exams given periodically throughout the semester > (perhaps we should call them "exam challenges"), we give 6 IRAT/GRAT, 3 > module exams, and 1 final exam. We do follow the TBL format of group > appeals after the GRAT, and those are going well. I concur with all your > points. It may be time for us to try something different (we used to hold > optional "Review" sessions for students to review the correct answer and > rationale for the exam, but changed our approach when we switched to TBL). > Perhaps we could start with the very next class reviewing any PROBLEMATIC > questions with the class (where the exam stats told us the question was a > poor quality question or only a small % got the question correct). I would > advocate that we NOT agree to change any answer option at that time, but > have students just make individual appointments, and bring a written > evidence-based rationale. Any other ideas?? > I just want to avoid confrontation, and having only 1 faculty stand in > front of a large class to defend their answer. > June > > June Felice Johnson, BS, Pharm.D., FASHP, FCCP, BC-ADM > Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Clinical Sciences Department > Drake University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences > 2507 University Avenue, Cline Atrium 009 > Des Moines, Iowa 50311 > Office: 515-271-1849 > Fax: 515-271-4171 > Email: [log in to unmask] > > > From: Paul Koles <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 11:43 AM > To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> > Cc: "Sibley, James Edward" <[log in to unmask]>, Pharmacy Health Sciences < > [log in to unmask]> > Subject: Re: Appeals Process after Exams: Self Care and Therapeutics > Course with over 100 students-Concerns and Need for Ideas > > June: I'm not sure I understand when the students are taking "their > exams into a side room". Is this before or after the Team RAT? Are you > using IF-AT cards that reveal the faculty's opinions before they go off to > the room? Are the appeals being generated *after* there has been whole > group interactive discussion focused on questions that some of the teams > missed? > > I understand that students may become upset, angry, and even aggressive > (unprofessionally) when they miss questions individually or as teams. > However, there is a designated time in the TBL sequence to voice these > concerns to the faculty and whole class: after the team RAT decisions have > been finalized by all teams. The facilitator must manage that discussion > to insure that teams with dissenting opinions (i.e., disagreements with > faculty's best answers) have opportunity to express why they disagree by > supporting their opinions with facts and concepts. These rationalizations > for alternate answers may be of significant value for the whole class, > because it forces the other teams to re-consider their positions. > However, once all opinions and evidence are "on the table", the facilitator > must bring the discussion to an end with an invitation to write cogent > appeals that are supported by authoritative resources (including the > advance assignment). Teams or individuals that want to continue > discussion because they are upset or angry, but cannot verbalize additional > evidence to support their position, must not be allowed to take the rest > of the teams and the faculty hostage by continuing to burn up valuable > time. When the facilitator perceives that no new information is being > shared, it's time to say, "I appreciate the passionate and vigorous > discussion we have had, but it's time to move on. Feel free to submit a > written appeal or talk with us after the session today." > A final point: I never make decisions as to accepting or rejecting an > alternate answer DURING a heated discussion, as my judgment is typically > altered by a stubborn attitude that despises whining and digs my heels in > to defend MY opinion. The only exception is when the faculty's question > is written so badly that most students cannot interpret the language in the > stem and/or the answer options. Such lame questions may be suspected when > the IF-AT cards show considerable lack of support for the faculty's > favorite answer. /PK > > On Jul 22, 2014, at 12:05 PM, Sibley, James Edward wrote: > > Hi > > It sounds like these are individual appeals…we only allow appeals from > teams…there is a nice moderating effect when the antagonizing student > must convince their team mates to do a team appeal > > 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]* > > *http://cis.apsc.ubc.ca/ <http://cis.apsc.ubc.ca/>* > > > Check out TBL at *www.teambasedlearning.org > <http://www.teambasedlearning.org>* > > > > hmmmmm… > > © Copyright 2014, 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 message. > > From: June Johnson <[log in to unmask]> > Reply-To: June Johnson <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at 8:46 AM > To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Appeals Process after Exams: Self Care and Therapeutics Course > with over 100 students-Concerns and Need for Ideas > > Colleagues, I teach in a clinical therapeutics course at Drake > University where all 3 semesters are TBL, and also teach in a Self Care > course in the TBL format. The issue of concern is our appeals process after > exams. > Currently, we allow students to hand in their scantrons, and take their > exams into a side room to view multiple copies of an exam key with > rationale for correct/incorrect answers. Students pick up an index card > with a few short notes that they can take with them to file an appeal for > the question within 48 hours of the exam. > The concern: This has become a very emotionally charged situation for a > number of students, who argue in writing (without solid evidence) that > their answer, not the faculty's, is correct. This has negatively impacted > student evaluations of our teaching in some cases. > We would appreciate suggestions on how to better conduct these appeals, as > we feel they are an important extension of their learning, to avoid > antagonism. > Thank you in advance for your ideas! > > June Felice Johnson, BS, Pharm.D., FASHP, FCCP, BC-ADM > Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Clinical Sciences Department > Drake University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences > 2507 University Avenue, Cline Atrium 009 > Des Moines, Iowa 50311 > Office: 515-271-1849 > Fax: 515-271-4171 > Email: [log in to unmask] > > > Paul G. Koles, MD > Assoc. Professor of Pathology and Surgery > Chair Pathology > Boonshoft School of Medicine > Wright State University > 140 White Hall > 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway > Dayton, OH 45435-0001 > 937-775-2625 phone > 937-775-2633 fax > [log in to unmask] > > > > > > -- ******************************* Larry K. Michaelsen, Professor of Management Dockery 400G, University of Central Missouri Warrensburg, MO 64093 660/543-4315 voice, 660/543-8465 fax For info on: Team-Based Learning (TBL) <www.teambasedlearning.org> Integrative Business Experience (IBE) <http://ucmo.edu/IBEl <http://faculty.ucmo.edu/ibe/home.html>> *******************************