Greetings everyone,

I don't grade each individual in-class activity. Instead, grades are weighted and in class applications count for about 10% of a student's final grade.  Therefore they are graded in a sense that students have to be in class to complete them to earn credit (no make ups if you miss class [with a few caveats]). 

To me, these low stake applications allow students to explore and apply material, especially material that may still be confusing or unclear, without risk of being penalized.  Therefore, there is no penalty for "wrong" answers. Hence, as long as they're in class they earn full credit (in my experience, peer evaluations compensate for those teammates who don't always participate or come prepared for in class applications). 

I use high stake applications for a team midterm and a team final (midterms and finals also have an individual component that is more heavily weighted).  These high stake team assessments in the form of an in class application are graded in the literal sense -with a rubric - that the students read prior to completing the team midterm/final. 

Thus far, low stakes and high stakes in class applications have been very successful in my courses.  I've been using TBL since the spring of 2012.

Best,

Kristen

Kristen M. Budd, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Sociology & Gerontology
Miami University
Oxford, OH

Any typographical errors are compliments of my iPhone. 

> On Sep 9, 2015, at 7:14 PM, Amanda Rees <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Sarah
> 
> I also like the idea of there being no right answer.  I also like to see the logic behind team decisions and it's the quality of the argument and the use of evidence that I apportion a grade to.
> 
> Manda
> 
> Dr. Amanda Rees
> Professor of Geography
> Columbus State University
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Sep 9, 2015, at 6:42 PM, Sarah Leupen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> 
>> I also find that using non-graded application exercises has many advantages, and students are highly engaged. One advantage I haven't seen mentioned yet is that by not grading my application exercises, I am free to make them as difficult and/or ambiguous as I like. Nothing kills discussion more than an application that's too easy, which I would be tempted toward if they were graded (to make sure it's "fair"). 
>> 
>> Sometimes there is no real right answer to the applications I write, but the question provides interesting discussion. For example, in my sophomore pre-nursing anatomy class, I ask the students if they would rather lose their stomach, small intestine, or large intestine. While the small intestine is clearly a terrible answer, there are good arguments for either of the other two, and students argue the point passionately both within their teams and in the whole-class discussion afterward, meanwhile learning a lot from each other and their resources about the different functions of these organs. Overall, I find that not grading the applications leads to students being more interested in the underlying concepts-- and yes, maybe what the answer is, but also why that's the answer, and not whether they got it right or not. 
>> 
>> Sarah Leupen
>> UMBC Biological Sciences
>> 
>>> On Wed, Sep 9, 2015 at 4:07 PM, Bill Goffe <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>> William -
>>> 
>>> For what it is worth, I don't grade application exercises. I find that
>>> students are fully engaged with out doing this. In fact, there is some
>>> evidence that people do less creative work when there is extrinsic
>>> motivation (I don't have references handy, but this is a key point of Dan
>>> Pink's book "Drive" and it is covered in his TED talk as well).
>>> 
>>> Also, if you grade it, they're likely to share application exercises with
>>> students who take the course later, so you'll have to write new ones each
>>> semester. As most find it hard to to write AEs, you're adding
>>> significantly to your workload.
>>> 
>>> You can certainly still standard midterms and finals in TBL.
>>> 
>>>     - Bill
>>> 
>>> 
>>> > Hello TBL Community,
>>> >
>>> > I am a bit of a novice TBLer so looking for some advice if you would be so kind. I am working on a way to grade the in-class applications, as it is a substantial part of the course expectations and student work. I was thinking of doing this in a two-fold manner - 1.) having a "right" answer to the applications that the groups could scratch off on the IFAT form after they have discussed and debated across groups (I would likely make this open to appeals as well); and 2.) developing some type of process feedback form in which each group would get a score at the end of a session (assessing things such as team interactions/dynamics, engagement, sound rationale behind answers during simultaneous reporting, others?!?).
>>> >
>>> > I would love any feedback or resources if there are any out there.
>>> >
>>> > Many thanks!
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > William Massey, PhD
>>> > Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy
>>> > School of Health Professions
>>> > Concordia University Wisconsin
>>> > Office: HS 143
>>> > 262-243-2073
>>> > [log in to unmask]
>>> >
>>> >
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>>> --
>>> Bill Goffe
>>> Senior Lecturer
>>> Department of Economics
>>> Penn State University
>>> 304 Kern Building
>>> University Park, PA 16802
>>> 814-867-3299
>>> [log in to unmask]
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