I also give them the opportunity to retake their home RAT afterwards to get the maximum mark ( as they know all the answers from the tRAT) because as the questions and responses are in random order it still make them to go thorough the reasoning of the questions one last time and after three times I assume that the whole class has a sufficient understanding to be able to formulate hypotheses about the problem at hand.

They are only about 2% each so I take TBL as a tool for formative feedback more than for summation assessment.

I teach in pharmaceutical science at Monash university in australia, and would be interested to know if there is an Australian group of TBL users ? I can see that there are Australian teachers in this forum! I think this forum is excellent by the way, I am glad I signed in.

On Wednesday, December 17, 2014, Peter Balan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

This is a creative way to deal with this (possible) problem.

In my case, five IRAT/TRAT tests represent 20% of the course mark. I say to the students at the start of the course that this process depends on their attendance and is all about contributing to (and benefiting from) collaborative team learning. So, if they miss a test, they get zero for that test. This arrangement keeps things simple for me and for the students. Some students grumble, but no-one has objected strongly, and it has not been a problem in any of the 17 TBL classes I’ve delivered so far.

You may like to follow up these conversations at the TBLC Annual Conference in St Petersburg, Fl, 5-7 March 2015. See you there!

Peter Balan

University of South Australia

Australia

(teaching entrepreneurship, and commercialisation)

From: Team-Based Learning [mailto:[log in to unmask]');" target="_blank">[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Herbert Coleman
Sent: Wednesday, 17 December 2014 1:44 PM
To: [log in to unmask]');" target="_blank">[log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: IRAT & Absences?

When I started I would give them one class period to make up the iRAT. I found that both the students and I spent way too much time and energy making sure they took or extending it if they were sick or hurt. This was all for something that only added 5 - 10 points to their final grade. Since then, shifted my thinking after reading some of Jim's writings. So what is the purpose of the iRAT? We are trying to make sure they did the readings and to prepare them for the T-RAT (the T-RAT is where students demonstrate their knowledge by explaining to their team mates why they chose a particular answer). If a student is absence on the the day of an iRAT/T-RAT (regardless of the reason), they've missed both opportunities.

So to kill two birds with one stone, I established that the only extra credit (or make up for missing an iRAT/T-RAT) is to do an article review. Students have to do research on the application exercise topic. If they do a two page review of a research study (following established format and rubric), they earn the points equivalent to the iRAT/T-RAT (30-45 points). They must complete it within the the unit and are encouraged to share the information with their team.

I use this method because it's the closest thing to a "true make up". They can do. Since they have to research the topic anyway, this merely forces them to do it more carefully and document it. They have to think and write about the topic. Likewise their team benefits from their increased in depth knowledge. As for me I don't mid the extra grading at this level. Surprisingly very few students actually do this. They just take the zero.

On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 2:10 PM, James Latham <[log in to unmask]');" target="_blank">[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hello,

I am implementing TBL into my Economics Courses for the first time next Spring. I have not decided how to deal with absences regarding the IRAT. I would appreciate any advice anyone may have. Thanks,

Michael

--

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]');" target="_blank">[log in to unmask]
512-223-7746
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Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.

—

Gandalf the Grey from the 2012 motion picture "The Hobbit"

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