Dear James,

Great to hear from another person teaching in general education courses (first and second year of the US 4-year undergraduate university system for those TBLers in other parts of the world).

In my intro 1000 level college class everyone has to sign t-RATs and applications when they are complete. Both the t-RAT multiple choice question handout and application handout have space for the team name and team members present. This is how I keep track of attendance. I don't give a grade for attendance. Instead, individual team members will not receive a grade if they've not attended either t-rats or applications. I have a cover sheet on the front of every team folder that clearly indicates the grade each team receives for t-RATs and applications. Folks get a 0 if they don't participate in those activities.

Outcomes are various.

The literature on best practices indicates that having them physically present in the classroom generates a much better outcome. I've increased my attendance levels (much higher than before I applied TBL) and I can quickly identify folks who are in trouble.
The state funding formula for Georgia system public institutions now emphasizes retention, progression, and graduation rates (rather than just a per capita payment) this really helps with the retention and progression portion.
We have a requirement at my institution to provide a bi-weekly report on attendance for anyone using VA benefits for college (just started this semester). This method provides a very quick way for me to check on attendance as I have 10% of my class in this situation.
It is my experience that team members are EXTREMELY generous to their team mates whether they attend or not. I only see the very worst offenders being penalized for lack of team engagement and attendance. So, offering the carrot of a grade for t-RATs and application seems to be effective at coming to a reasonable grade for reasonable effort.

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, Oct 1, 2015 at 12:58 PM, James Latham <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

I would be very interested to hear from others who teach Intro Level Undergraduate Courses on this topic. I find myself going back and forth between grading/not-grading and credit for attendance. If I grade the application activities, then I lean toward give the grade to the team and allow peer evaluations (and application grades) to incentivize attendance. But if I don't grade, then I tend to lean toward participation grades and zeros for no-attendance and peer evals for unprepared/non-contributors.

I would prefer not to grade nor take attendance for applications. An internalized motivation for the love of learning would be wonderful, but in an intro level class I find some incentive is necessary (at least for a portion of the students)

Michael

James "Michael" Latham, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
Business & Computer Systems
Collin College
SCC J228

From: Team-Based Learning <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Amanda Rees <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, October 1, 2015 10:56 AM

To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Attendance for application exercises

Dear TBLers

So, this is an interesting reflection perhaps on student maturity.

I'm so excited that students are so engaged they stay for applications even though there are no grades. However, in a first year classroom teaching a general education requirement if there is no grade attached to applications I would have few if any folks staying.

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, Oct 1, 2015 at 10:42 AM, Anderson, Max <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

At UIC, we have an attendance policy for TBL: http://chicago.medicine.uic.edu/departments___programs/program_offices/undergraduate_medical_education/curriculum/md_program__year_1_/team-_based_learning/team-_based_learning_attendance_policy

We do not grade the Application portion and attendance is optional. I would say that 99% of students stay with the TBL even though they know that once we get to the Application portion, they are technically allowed to leave.

Max

From: Team-Based Learning on behalf of "Budd, Kristen"
Reply-To: "Budd, Kristen"
Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 19:39
To: "[log in to unmask]"
Subject: Re: Attendance for application exercises

Hi Alison,

I agree with Kare. Because you haven't built a policy into your syllabus, it's best to rely on the peer evaluations. Granted, if you have a general attendance policy in your syllabus you could lean on that; for example, if they need to provide documentation of illness, etc.

My syllabus details that they cannot make up team in-class applications because they have to be there to participate. Keeping in mind that life happens, I do drop two scores at the end of the semester. (To clarify, I don't grade in class applications. They count for 20 participation points per activity).

I hope this helps.

Best,

Kristen

On Wed, Sep 30, 2015 at 8:19 PM, Alison Bates <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hello,

I am teaching my first TBL course and decided to grade the in-class application exercises (upon several threads here since the semester started, I probably wouldn’t do this again). Regardless, I am having a problem: absent students during graded in-class work. It’s not widespread but nonetheless each class maybe 1-2 absent students. I did not specify in my syllabus how this would be handled. My first reaction was to give the missing students a 0 for that exercise, but I do have the peer multiplier built into group grades. How have others dealt with this issue?

Thanks for any advice,

Alison

Alison Bates

Lecturer (Renewable Energy & Sustainability)

Department of Environmental Conservation

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Holdsworth 209

160 Holdsworth Way

Amherst, MA 01003

[log in to unmask]

413-545-1768

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Kristen M. Budd, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Faculty Pre-Law Advisor

Sociology, Criminology, and Social Justice Studies

Miami University

Upham Hall 367D

Oxford, Ohio 45056-1879 U.S.A.

E-mail: [log in to unmask]

Phone: 513-529-1598

Chair-Elect, Crime & Juvenile Delinquency Division, Society for the Study of Social Problems (2015-2017)

Chair, Crime & Juvenile Delinquency Division, Society for the Study of Social Problems (2017-2019)

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