Adapting Team-Based Learning to Small Classes: Can we build an RAP with no Multiple-Choice Questions? Mark Harrison Team-Based Learning Collaborative Conference, Florida, 1-3 March 2012 Advantages and Disadvantages of the Short-Answer Question RAP Format The main advantages are:  The questions on the RAP can be completed outside class or completed online with minimal risk of cheating.  The questions on the RAP can be completed asynchronously.  The RAP can employ formative or developmental questions – that is, the questions can guide the student through the material, and can be learning experiences in themselves.  Student stress can be reduced due to the unlimited time / open book format; this enables faster TBL cycles. (One-week cycles were used in all courses.) The main disadvantages are:  Large volume of grading required. (LAA-A-A-A-RGE volume!)  Loss of the teamwork development and team learning that occur during a face-to-face team RAT.  It may be difficult to construct RAPs for topics with a large number of knowledge-level learning goals. (The number of questions might be required to cover all the topics might be impractical.) Introduction Research Problem and Research Question: “Classical” TBL relies upon multiple-choice questions in the Readiness Assurance Process (RAP). But in some teaching situations, multiple-choice questions are not desired. Therefore I asked: Can we design and build an RAP with no multiple-choice questions? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such an RAP? Methods: I developed an RAP format that used short-answer questions (a.k.a. “short-essay” questions) in place of the conventional multiple-choice questions. The short-answer questions required responses of about one paragraph in length, and were assigned as open-book homework with unlimited time. I field-tested the short-answer question RAP format in fourteen courses - eleven online MBA courses and three face-to-face undergraduate courses in Business Administration. EXAMPLE of a Short-Answer Question RAP Students were ed a “Readiness Assignment” – a Microsoft Word document containing their pre-work reading assignment and a series of short-answer questions: Students completed the Readiness Assignment using the blue text answer prompts and returned the completed Word document for grading. The students then “reported out” to the class, compared answers, and discussed the answers. The class then proceeded to the Team Application phase of the TBL cycle. (Concurrently with the Team Application phase, the instructor graded the Readiness Assignments and returned them.) Week 5 Readiness Assignment: Pratt & Whitney 1) Read the following: HBS case: Transformation of Pratt & Whitney of North Haven (Abridged) 2) Pratt & Whitney. “Pratt held only 7% of the aftermarket...” (p.2). Should P&W be alarmed? Explain briefly (one short paragraph). Answer 3) Ed Northern. Describe the culture of P&W North Haven, at the time of Northern’s arrival. (Explain briefly, in your own words, with examples – 1 paragraph.) Answer 4) Tom Hutton. Evaluate the team processes of the Grit Blast Capital Purchase Team. Give them a letter grade (A, B, C, D, F). What behaviors would Hutton like to see in his Grit Blast Capital Purchase Team, and how might he motivate them? Explain briefly (1 paragraph). Answer Terry Perry was charged to lead the Grit Blast Purchase team. Evaluate Perry’s leadership: Give him a letter grade (A, B, C, D, F). What behaviors would Hutton prefer to see in Terry Perry, and how might he motivate them? Explain briefly (1 paragraph). Answer Write a Problem Statement for Tom Hutton, with respect to the difficulties on the Grit Blast Capital Purchase Team. Answer Comparison of Typical Course Design Parameters “Classical” TBL Short-Answer Question RAP Format Learning EnvironmentFace-to-face Online / Asynchronous or Face-to-face Class size40 or more students Fewer than 20 students Team size4 to 7 students 3 to 5 students Student Work Effort With Short-Answer Question RAP (self-reports from n= 43 students in 7-week online MBA courses) Reading (hours per week) RAP (hours per week) Team Assignment (hours per week) Other (hours per week) Total (hours per week) Mean 5.2 (29%) 4.7 (26%) 4.4 (24%) 3.3 (18%) 17.5 (100%) Results of the Field Tests The short-answer question RAP format proved practical to administer in small classes Class sizes ranged from 12 to 22 students. Developing and de-bugging the short essay questions required considerable time. The quantity of grading limits the class size to perhaps 25 students per instructor. TBL with the short-answer question RAP format produced high levels of student engagement and work effort: Students in the 7-week online MBA courses reported working an average of 17.5 hours per week. This exceeds the work effort in non-TBL courses in the same program (personal communication from the Program Director). TBL with the short-answer question RAP format produced high levels of student satisfaction: Students in the 7-week online MBA courses rated the TBL courses more favorably than non-TBL courses in the same program (personal communication from the Program Director, based on student responses to a Likert-scale survey on the item “Rate this course overall”). This finding is consistent with the literature on classical TBL. Sample student comments: “Keep up the good work. Thanks for pushing me so hard, I know it will pay off.” “I thought this setup was extremely perfect.” “This was an excellent experience.” The short-answer question RAP format has both advantages and disadvantages vis-à-vis the multiple-choice question RAP format of “Classical” TBL (see below). The advantages of the Short Essay Question RAP Format are particularly strong for online courses. Selected references: Hernandez, S. A. (2002). Team-Based Learning in a Marketing principles course: cooperative structures that facilitate active learning and higher level thinking. Journal of Marketing Education 24(1), Hill, L. H., Bowen, K., Bradach, J. H., & Doughty, K. (1999). Transformation of Pratt & Whitney North Haven (abridged). Harvard Business School case Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press. Michaelsen, L. K. Knight, A. B., & Fink, L. D. (2004). Team-Based Learning: A Transformative Use of Small Groups in College Teaching. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing. Michaelsen, L. K., Sweet, M., & Parmelee, D.X., eds. (2008) Team-Based Learning: Small Group Learning’s Next Big Step. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.