Team-Based Learning Exercises for Hands-on Courses
Intent
Grading strategy for Team Based Learning (TBL) exercises to improve individual performance and participation in a team.
Problem
Team Based Learning (TBL) is an active learning strategy that incentivizes peer-learning among students. At the The Premedical Urban Leaders Summer Enrichment (PULSE) Program, TBL exercises are used to assess students preparation, but a risk exists that students (particularly weaker students) may engage less in individual preparation and participation in the team activities because they know that all members will receive the same grade, independently on their contribution.
Solution
The instructors of the program decided to change the grading system so that students would have to demonstrate a minimum level of preparation to be allowed to share in the team grade.
Applicability
The proposed solution, although designed in the context of a Molecular Biology course for Senior Undergraduate Underrepresented Students in Medicine, appears to be widely applicable to Team Based Learning activities in different fields and different student levels.
How to Implement
The Team Based Learning exercises described in the source paper include three activities:
- Initially, the students are required to study the relevant course material for the activity and are then tested using a closed-book multiple choice quiz called the individual readiness assurance test (iRAT).
- Then, students are encouraged to discuss the quiz questions in a group discussion and to agree on the final answers, to be submitted in the group readiness assurance test (gRAT).
- Optionally and finally, the TBL activity may include a series of open book application questions on the topics discussed during the group portion of the exercise.
At the source’s institution, iRAT and gRAT scores are the only ones factored in the final grade for the exercise, with a respective weight of 33\% and 67\%. If a student scores too low in the individual component, they are assigned a gRAT score equal to their iRAT score.
The modified grading system has been shown to improve scores in the individual quizzes. Stronger students benefitted from group discussions of higher quality, and weaker students were more prepared to engage in the group portion of the exercises.
See Also
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Source
Source: Carrasco, Gonzalo A., Kathryn C. Behling, and Osvaldo J. Lopez. “A novel grading strategy for team‐based learning exercises in a hands‐on course in molecular biology for senior undergraduate underrepresented students in medicine resulted in stronger student performance.” Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education 47, no. 2 (2019): 115-123. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.21200
Described by: Giulia Toti, giulia.toti@ubc.ca
References
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