Dear Neil and Heather,

Keep calm and carry on!!!!!

Neal: I tell students that TBL is a learning process, that the first iteration of the TBL process is for them to learn not for me to grade. I let them know of the 10 modules they'll complete in 16 weeks I drop two lowest grades (t-rat and application) which is usually includes some early efforts.  If you do less modules then I'd drop one.  I also offer to drop one module in my advanced/grad class.

I'd also like to say that I really have appreciated some of the recent comments on TBLC that point to the great different in the types of students who are experiencing TBL.  Some colleagues are working with graduate students in professional programs where the level of engagement and buy-in is usually high.  I'm working with first year undergraduate students in an institution serving a large minority population, in a region where high school preparation is uneven at best. Plus I've got lots of first time students who don't remember doing any geography at k-12 and don't want to be in a general education class.  My strategy is to repeatedly let my students know this is a new learning process, that I understand there's going to be a period of adjustment as they shift to from knowledge consumers to knowledge producers, but that I feel confident that they will do well as they get the hang of it all. I am confident and they they do well !!!! I've gone from about 60% productive grade (A,B,C) to 90% :) even as student evaluations have dipped.

TBL is a MASSIVE shift in thinking about the learning process.  Usually wary of drinking all the Kool-Aid all at once I decided to dive into the swimming pool as I'd been looking for a pedagogical approach that shifted the relationship between students and learning.  Though I do a few things a little differently from some of the folks, especially as I find it useful to scaffold the application process so my student population can effectively collect and organize evidence before discussing their team application (I give that work a grade), but I really do like the TBL framework. 

Heather: A strategy I've just started is when I present the list of concepts that students have to prepare for their i/t-RATs I also model the note taking strategy with one or two concepts to show them how they'll want to prepare for class.  This has been a light bulb moment for me, because the stronger their notes in preparation, the easier they find it to respond effectively in writing to the application. 

I'm presently in a stem group of faculty considering flipping their classroom (part of a stem grant).  We meet every few weeks to discuss various strategies.  I'm one of two folks using TBL (the other being a music colleague) in the classroom.  My biology colleague who runs our pre-med program (and who's come to observe my classroom) shared with the group that the regional medical program some of our students transfer into is now asking that their recruits be familiar with TBL. I'm looking forward to supporting a few more colleagues so I can have a home-grown team of TBLers.

Manda

Dr. Amanda Rees
Professor of Geography, Department of History and Geography
Tel: (706) 507 8358            Fax: (706) 507-8362
E-mail: [log in to unmask]      Web: http://columbusstate.academia.edu/AmandaRees

Coordinator: Columbus Community Geography Center

Mailing Address:
Department of History and Geography, Columbus State University
4225 University Avenue, Columbus, GA 31907, U.S.A.

Office Location:
901 Front Avenue,Yancey Center at One Arsenal Place
Room 350  (campus map)


On Thu, Sep 10, 2015 at 11:05 AM, Neil Haave <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
First the context: this is a first year course for majors and non-majors in biological function. Most of the students are either majoring in biology or intending to enter a professional program in the health sciences.

My question: How have people on this list handled the huge disappointment that happens with the first RAT of the first term in freshman courses?

This is typically students' very first university quiz as I start right after the first week of setting up the course structure with the first TBL module. This past weekend I gave students their reading assignment complete with reading guide (key objectives and keywords matched to the pages and figure numbers in the text book). Then they wrote their first RAT yesterday. I received fairly typical results I think except that the iRAT score were lower then I had hoped.

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It breaks my heart when I hear stories from students during the tRAT and after class that they studied 10-15 hrs and made 10-15 pages of notes over the long weekend only to receive an iRAT mark of 2/10. They had such energy at the start of the term last week. Now I think I have killed it.

How do the rest of you manage this sort of disappointment and help students regain their spirit for learning (and mine for teaching!)? I suspect the issue is that many of these excellent students (and I have no doubt they achieved excellence in high school) simply were able to excel in high school without developing good study, reading, and note-taking skills. I have a couple of excellent senior students who will be coming into class tomorrow to explain how they read and take notes. I hope that helps.

I would love to hear the collective wisdom of the TBLC.

Thanks very much.

Neil

Neil Haave, PhD
Associate Professor, Biology
Managing Editor, CELT
Vice-President, AIBA

University of Alberta, Augustana Faculty
Rm C155, Science Wing, Classroom Building, Augustana Campus
4901 - 46 Avenue, Camrose, AB, CANADA   T4V 2R3


"We do not learn from experience . . . we learn from reflecting on experience" - John Dewey

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