Group quizzing using the IF AT sheets is an element of the
Team-Based Learning model that promotes student discussion and engagement with
the content at a higher level of learning than quizzing individually, or
lecturing by itself. Students work together to answer challenging quiz
questions based on the content required for the class session. Each group has
only one chance to get the right answer to a question, and they learn if they
were correct if they see a start when they scratch off their choice on the IF
AT answer sheet. This provides immediate feedback. If they don’t get it right,
they lose points on that question, and they have to keep answering until they
get the right answer, with half points awarded for the correct answer on the
second attempt. Learning the correct answer to a question is important, as
student will remember the last answer they put on a quiz or test. If was the
wrong answer, that’s what they remember as correct; therefore, providing
immediate feedback is important to student’s learning the correct information.
During the group quizzes, it’s exciting to see students
engaged in discussions about the nuances of the content, and students rarely
miss class on quiz days. During the group quiz, walk around the room and listen
to what they are saying in their discussions. This information is very helpful in
reviewing things that were most important, or concepts that they didn’t
understand, as well as in determining how to write future quiz questions
·
Were the questions too easy? If there was little
discussion and they finish the quiz in a
couple of minutes, the answer is probably yes.
·
Were the questions too hard, or were they poorly
written, based on the content? If the discussions goes on for a long time, particularly
on a few questions, this is probably the case. At this point, find out what the
students are saying and thinking, to clarify content and maybe even revise the
question, giving credit to students where it is due.
Inevitably, the students working as a group get 100% most of
the time, because they have discussed their rationale and have had to come to a
consensus about the correct answer. In doing so, they have taught each other (peer
instruction).
Later, compare the group quiz scores with the scores you see on the individual
quizzes- if you wrote good questions that are not too easy and not too hard,
they should follow a normal distribution bell-curve, with scores ranging from
50 or 60 to 100%. (Stats are available for quizzes on your course management site)
This individual quizzing followed by group quizzing method
from TBL is particularly beneficial to students’ learning if the questions are
challenging and they need to “dig” for the answers in the content, or if they
have to make a challenging decision based on what they’ve learned. I’ve found
that 10 questions is a good length for a group quiz so that it takes just a few
minutes at the beginning of class to complete. Be sure to write good questions
for this, that require them engage with the content you’ve provided for class
prep.
It’s also very important for students to do this quiz first
on their own without getting any feedback or score. This gives them time to
think about the questions themselves and look for the answers in the learning
materials you’ve provided before they do the quiz with their group. I don’t know about you, but I learn best when
I have a question that I’m faced with, and I have to find information to answer
the question. This is often how students learn too, and many will do the quiz
and content review at the same time- I encourage this- when they have plenty of
time to answer the questions on their own, they will often go through the key
parts of the content several times- helping them learn it. Individual quizzing
before class is also important in holding them accountable for class preparation
as well as limiting the amount of time
needed in class for the group quiz. I usually plan on about 15 minutes in class,
which allows time for discussion and clarification of a few questions.
A few things about using the IF AT scratch sheets: questions
must be in multiple choice format with choices for each ordered based on the specific form being used. Getting
the answers in the correct order is streamlined if you use the free IF AT
testmaker site. Also, each question can only have one answer. More information
about IF AT sheets is available on their website .
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