Chapter 9 - Instructional Media: Chalkboards to Video - CGISS

material outside of class. (Michaelsen suggests you use the term
team as opposed to group. Teams stay together and are
permanent. Teams suggest a sense of purpose and direction.)
When the students get to class, they take, as individuals, a
readiness Assessment test (RAT) over the material they were
assigned to read. This is generally a multiple choice test over the
reading content, which is collected when they finish. When every
one finishes, the pre-assigned group gets together, and they take
the same test as a group, discussing the possible answers, and
making a group decision on the best answer. Here they get
immediate feedback whether their answer was correct or
incorrect. One technique for doing this is to use a scratch-off
answer sheet called the IF AT (Immediate Feedback Assessment
Technique) that allows the group to see if they got the answer
correct on the first try (5 points), second try (3 points), or third try
(1 point). Each group only gets one scratch-off sheet. The
groups hand in their IF AT sheets which are scored and the group
score is added to the individual score for the knowledge test.
Teams are now given a critical thinking task that has them apply the
material to a problem that does not necessarily have a correct or
incorrect answer. The teams can then present their answers and give
a rationale for their solution. A website devoted to Team-based
Learning can be found at the University of Oklahoma website.
There is some research evidence that this approach supports critical
thinking (Gokhale, 1995). Gokhale found that individuals in teams working
collaboratively did no better than individuals working alone on factual
knowledge, but they were significantly better on problems requiring
critical thinking.
The Activity
• Assign the students to diverse (heterogeneous) teams of five
to seven.
• Have a practice reading and readiness assessment test (RAT)
session, so students understand the procedure.
• Have them decide how their grades will be determined (see
Michaelsen).
• Divide the course into five or six units (two to three text
chapters) – each to be initiated with a readiness assessment
test (RAT).
• Prepare out-of-class assignments for the course.
• Prepare five questions over the reading that assesses the
student’s knowledge of what the reading said – this is the
readiness assessment test (RAT).
Section: Lesson Delivery 87 Chapter 8: Using Active Learning