I think one of the chief benefits of an early application exercise is that it gives students the feel of what they'll be experiencing with TBL. Given the kind of context you've described, I'd tend to be prepared with 2-3 brief scenarios that would help the students think ahead to some of the communication dynamics they might encounter in their team interactions. I'll offer these as possible scenarios, but am not fleshing out the responses; you'd need to do that before using them, of course.
- You have a teammate who seems distracted and spends at least part of each class responding to text messages. Together with your team, identify the best way to approach your teammate.
- One of your teammates has a loud voice that becomes even louder when discussing an exciting topic. Select the best way to ask your teammate to modify their volume without dampening enthusiasm during discussion.
- A member of your team will be asked to advance an argument that illustrates your team's thinking on an application question. Which of the following options represents the best way to make a case for your perspective. (Here I'm thinking something like "make a statement and show your reasoning," "make a statement and offer evidence from the readings," etc.)
- You have a teammate who seems shy and has chosen a seat off to the side, giving your team a bit of a "tail." Identify the best strategy for getting your teammate incorporated into group discussion without making them feel awkward or singled out.
- You prefer to talk through ideas to arrive at a conclusion. A member of your team finds this distracting and prefers to think quietly for a time before offering a suggestion. What is the best to ensure an effective decision making approach for everyone in your group?
I've used questions like this to help them get a sense of what they can expect from me in terms of facilitation. For instance the question about a teammate's volume gives me a chance to explain that I'll be walking around and listening to their discussions, but they shouldn't expect me to chime in or guide them in a particular direction. The third bullet gives me a chance to say that we'll alternate who represents the argument from a team, etc.
All my best,
Shawnalee
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Shawnalee A. Whitney
Director, Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence
Associate Professor, Dept of Journalism and Communication
University of Alaska Anchorage
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