College of Engineering
An Excerpt from a Workshop on
“Active/Cooperative Learning and
Teaming in the Classroom”
P.K. Imbrie (imbrie@purdue.edu)
School of Engineering Education
Purdue University
Frequently Asked Questions
 Do you have any “real” proof that this stuff works?
 Using ACL & teaming in the classroom means I will not be
able to cover all the material I have to in a given semester.
How can I do ACL & teaming and still teach what I have
to?
 This is probably OK for intro or discussion type classes,
but in difficult courses I can’t see how this will really work.
How can I do this in a course were there is a lot of
technical material?
 ACL & teaming probably works fine for small classes, but
is it really appropriate for large lecture section
environments
Engineering Education
FAQ 1:
Do you have any “real” proof that this stuff works?
CC
Traditional
FC
MBT
Active/Collaborative
FCI
0
20
40
60
80
Passive/Traditional
Posttest %
Texas A&M University
Foundation Coalition Integrated Freshman Pilot
Program
Richard Hake
Dept. of Physics, Indiana Univ.
Journal of Physics
Engineering Education
FAQ 2:
Using ACL & teaming in the classroom means I will not be able
to cover all the material I have to in a given semester. How
can I do ACL teaming and still teach what I have to?
› What students learn is generally less than what we
teach…..Fact of Life according to Rich Felder, North Carolina State University
› Lecturing may be the most time efficient delivery mechanism,
but generally does little to impart conceptual understanding.
› Changing from a reactive learning environment to one which
is proactive enables you to cover more material.
Engineering Education
FAQ 3:
This is probably OK for intro or discussion type classes, but in
difficult courses I can’t see how this will really work. How can
I do this in a course were there is a lot of technical material?
›
These methods are independent of the subject mater
being taught.
›
What students learn is generally less than what we
teach…..Fact of Life according to Rich Felder, North Carolina State University
›
Employing ACL techniques does not imply that you never
lecture!
›
Holding students accountable, on a regular basis, is
imperative.
Engineering Education
FAQ 4:
ACL & teaming probably works fine for small classes, but is it
really appropriate for large lecture section environments?
› Class size is not as important as classroom environment.
A class of 40 is the same as a class of 400 as long as you
have the appropriate support.
–
1 facilitator per 28-32 students (7-8 teams).
–
Classroom layout is important.
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Quiz
› INDIVIDUALLY, Take out a piece of paper and answer
the following questions (closed book/notes). You will be
given approximately 30 seconds for each question.
 Name 2 of the tests that were used to show you that ACL
and teaming in the classroom really does work.
 Fill in the blank.
“Holding ________ ________, on a regular basis, is
imperative.”
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How can you create an ACL
environment?
› The Five Elements of ACL:
–
Positive interdependence
–
Individual accountability
–
Group processing
–
Social skills
–
FACE-to-face interaction
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ACL Elements
› Positive Interdependence - Team members must rely on
each other to accomplish goals.
› Individual Accountability - Members are held accountable
for doing their share of the work, as well as mastering all
material.
› Group Processing - Teams periodically reflect on what they
do well as a team, what they could improve, and what they
might need to do differently.
› Face-to-Face Interaction - Some or all work should be done
by members working together.
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ACL Elements
continued
› Social Skills - Team members practice and receive
instruction in leadership, decision-making, communication,
and conflict management.
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Is Teaching Students How to be
Effective Team Members Important?
• Positive Interdependence
• Individual Accountability
• Group Processing
• Social Skills
Teaming
• FACE-To-Face Promotive Interaction
Engineering Education
Exercise
Readiness Assessment Test
A.K.A. RAT
AS A TEAM, take 3 minutes to provide a written to
answer the following questions: Closed Book / Closed Notes
 What are the 5 elements of Active/Cooperative Learning?
 Provide a 1 sentence description for each element.
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Exercise
continued
Readiness Assessment Test
A.K.A. RAT
INDIVIDUALLY, take 3 minutes to provide a written to
answer the following questions: Closed Book / Closed Notes
 What are the 5 elements of Active/Cooperative Learning?
 Provide a 1 sentence description for each element.
Engineering Education
If this was YOUR class
› Let’s assume that the quiz is worth a total 20 points:
–
You might count the team component as 25% (5 points).
–
The remaining points would then be used to score the
individual component.
› What other options do you have with regard to
implementation?
Engineering Education
RAT Options
› There are probably countless variations on the same concept.
The idea is to try to keep the students from 2nd guessing you
and being held less accountable:
–
Just give an individual RAT.
–
Give an individual RAT followed by a team RAT and only
use the team grade.
–
Give a team RAT followed by an individual RAT and
randomly select one student’s work to count as the team
grade.
› What else can you do?
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Exercise
AS A TEAM, take 4 minutes to provide a written to
answer the following questions:
› What is your team’s definition of a Team? Any
member of the team should be prepared to present.
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What is a Team Anyway?
TEAM (tem) n, 1.a. Two or more draft animals harnessed to a
vehicle or farm implement. b. A vehicle along with the animal or
animals harnessed to it. 2. A group of animals exhibited or
performing together . 3. A group of players on the same side in
a game. 4. Any group ORGANIZED to work together.
The American Heritage Dictionary
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A Little More Specific?
A team is a small group of people with complementary skills
who are committed to a common purpose, performance
goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually
accountable.
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What Problems Do You
Anticipate?
Laying down the foundation for effective teaming is essential
to the active/collaborative learning environment. Or, to put it
another way, we need to help students develop Group
processing and Social skills.
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Common Team Problems
(Student’s Perspective)
1.
One of my teammates never comes to class;
2.
One of my teammates never participants;
3.
No one comes to our homework meetings prepared to work;
4.
One of my team members is loud, obnoxious, and very rude; and
5.
Most of my teammates just want to rush hurry up and get done and
don’t care if what we got is correct.
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Common Team Problems
(Faculty Member Perspective)
1.
How should teams be formed?
2.
How does one deal with dysfunctional teams?
3.
How should teamwork be evaluated and included in individual
grades?
4.
What are effective team exercises?
5.
How can one form a good team exam?
6.
How can one motivate students to work on a team?
Engineering Education
Five Issues to be Considered
in Building a Student Team
› Interdependence - This is the issue of how each member's
outcomes are determined, at least in part, by the actions of the
other members.
–
The structure of the team’s task should be such that it
requires cooperative interdependence.
–
Tasks need to be designed in such a way that team
members functioning independently of other team
members, or competing with them should lead to sub
optimal outcomes for themselves and/or the entire team.
–
Make students aware of, and help them experience, their
interdependence.
Engineering Education
Five Issues to be Considered
in Building a Student Team
continued
› Goal Specification - It is important for team members to
have common goals for team achievement, as well as to
communicate their individual goals.
–
Give students the opportunity to articulate their goals
(team or individual) as part of an assignment.
–
As part of a group processing exercise, have students
review/modify their goals (team or individual) on a
regular basis.
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Five Issues to be Considered
in Building a Student Team
continued
› Cohesiveness - The attractiveness of team membership.
Teams are cohesive to the extent that membership in them is
positively valued.
–
For social cohesiveness, team building exercises that have
a component of fun or play are useful in allowing
attraction bonds to develop.
–
For task cohesiveness ( the way team members mesh to
allow for effective performance), exercises that require
the application of the skills that will be necessary for
completion of the team assignment, but require them in a
less demanding situation
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Five Issues to be Considered
in Building a Student Team
continued
› Roles and Norms - roles are understood and accepted by
team members, while norms are the rules governing the
behavior of team members.
–
Active consideration of the role structure should be an
important part of any team building exercise.
–
Task roles should be rotated (initially by the faculty) so
that all team members experience, and learn from, all
roles.
–
Include rewards for behaving in accordance with
normative requirements, as well as sanctions for norm
violations.
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Five Issues to be Considered
in Building a Student Team
(continued)
› Communication - Effective interpersonal communication is
vital to the smooth functioning of any task team.
–
Active listening exercises, practice in giving and receiving
feedback, practice in checking for comprehension of
verbal messages, could all be used at developing
communication skills.
–
It is also important for a team to develop an effective
communication network; who communicates to whom; is
there anybody "out of the loop?"
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Team Composition and Roles
KEY TEAM ROLES include:
1. Meeting Coordinator
2. Recorder
3. Timekeeper
4. Encourager/ Gatekeeper
5. Devil’s Advocate.
› As a faculty member, you serve as a facilitator on all teams
› Roles should rotate among team members.
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Important Roles
› Meeting Coordinator - Coordinates and prepares the
agenda (i.e, what needs to be accomplished, establishes a
process, etc.) ; coordinates time, date and place of
meetings; ensures all necessary resources are available for
the meetings; keeper of the Code of Cooperation (to be
discussed); monitors the decision making process;
coordinates the process check. However, THIS PERSON
IS NOT THE BOSS.
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Important Roles
continued
› Recorder - the recorder is the person responsible for doing
the writing of the team whenever group work is being done.
This should maximum participation by the rest of the team,
since no one else needs to worry about it. If required, the
recorder also ensures that the process(es) being used by
the team is (are) documented and/or prepares an ACTION
LIST to keep a record of assigned actions. In addition, the
recorder makes sure that copies of their work are provided to
the rest of the team.
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Important Roles
continued
› Time Keeper - the time keeper has the responsibility of
keeping tract of time, as well as keeping the team moving so
that they can finish the task at hand.
› Encourager/ Gatekeeper - the encourager/gatekeeper has
the task of giving encouragement to all the other team
members. The person also has the responsibility of
maintaining a balanced level of participation for all the
members. They will encourage the silent members and try to
hold back the verbose, dominate members.
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Important Roles
continued
› Devil’s Advocate - the devil’s advocate takes a position
opposite to that held by the team to ensure that all sides of an
issue are considered. This responsibility should be
undertaken by all team members.
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Some Rules About Roles
› Initially:
–
Rotate the roles on a regular basis until everybody has held a
different position;
–
Hold the students accountable for knowing and using their
assigned roles;
–
Design tasks that require students to make use of their roles;
and
–
Have students do process checks to evaluate their role
effectiveness.
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Code of Cooperation
The agreed upon rules governing the behavior of team
members, as well as any appropriate rewards and
sanctions.
› It sets a norm for acceptable behavior for each team
member and represents how the team members will
interact with one another;
› It should be developed, adopted, improved and/or modified
by all team members on a continuous basis;
› It should be easily accessible to team members.
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Code of Cooperation
Example from a Student Team
› Come to class having read assignment
› Be on time for class and team meetings
› Contribute to team efforts on quizzes and classes.
› Ask questions of our team and profs to increase
understanding of material
› Help teammates understand material being covered
› Pay attention in class (make sure teammates are awake).
› Tactfully inform teammates if they are breaking the CoC :
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Guidelines for Team Formation
› What does the literature say about team sizes, composition,
and formation.
› Several ideas for forming teams:
–
Totally random;
–
Ethnicity and gender;
–
Homogeneous or heterogeneous;
–
Testing and projects; and
–
Freshman versus sophomore teams.
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Facilitator-Teacher/TA
› Focuses on the team's process;
› Evaluates process performance;
› Continually develops personal skills in facilitating and group
processes;
› Learns a variety of techniques to control digressive, difficult,
or dominating participants, to encourage reluctant
participants, and to resolve conflict among participants; and
› Learns when and how to employ these interventions and how
to teach such skills to team members.
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Team Facilitation
› Bring code of cooperation.
› Individually write your goals for the class.
› Individually +/ your actions towards achieving these goals.
› Plus/delta yourself and your team members on the code of
cooperation.
› Set individual actions for the future.
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Overcoming Student Resistance
When developing evaluation criteria for ACL activities,
one should take into account known points of student
resistance, which are the result of prior bad experiences.





Lack of clarity in team assignments;
Unclear grading standards for teamwork, which is typically
the result of excessive team grading without individual
accountability for each team member’s contributions;
Inequitable commitments to “the team” by individual
members;
Poor planning and organization of team activities; and
Inadequate introduction or rationale for teamwork.
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Communicate Your Expectations
•From listener,
observer, and note
taker…..
to active problem solver,
contributor, and
discussant.
•From low to
moderate
expectations of their
preparedness…..
to high expectations of
their readiness.
•From a private
presence in the
classroom with few
risks…..
to a public presence with
many risks.
Cooper, MacGregor, Smith, and Robinson
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Communicate Your Expectations
continued
•From attendance
dictated by personal
choice…..
to attendance dictated
by community
expectation.
•From competition
with peers…..
to cooperative work with
them.
•From responsibilities
and self-definition
associated with
learning
independently…..
to responsibilities and
self-definition associated
with learning
interdependently.
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Communicate Your Expectations
•From the notion that
faculty and text
books are the sole
sources of authority
and knowledge…..
continued
to the notion that peers,
oneself, and the thinking
of one’s community are
additional and important
sources of knowledge.
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Cooper, MacGregor, Smith, and Robinson
Classroom Management
› Use of +/ and issue bin;
› Use check for understanding;
› How you order the team to do reporting;
› Move around in the classroom;
› Handing out assignments;
› Collecting assignments;
› How you give instructions;
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Classroom Management
continued
› Make students ask their team members for help before you
answer questions;
› Sponge activities;
› Getting control of the class;
› Provide learning objectives;
› Using other teams to help slower teams;
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Classroom Management
continued
› Time management:
–
Understand what your purpose of the exercise is:
• Do
nothing and explain what your purpose was
• Give
additional time;
• Complete
as out-of-class work;
• Use
teams that have made more progress; and
• Use
sponge activities.
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Thank You
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