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Craig: This whole process actually starts
before the students even get to the class.
So the past weekend the students had posted
learning objectives up on the website
to make sure that they were clear on what was expected
of them before they arrived in class this morning.
And so they took on this process of knowledge acquisition
before they got to class.
And then fast forward to this morning,
8:29 a.m., bright and early, 8:30 class,
which we all love Mark.
And the class is about to start every
student was in their seat.
The students had their laptops open.
They were ready to go.
And once the clock hit 8:30 they immediately began
what we call the individual readiness assessment.
Now, this is generally a five to 10 questions
multiple choice assessment, which again tests their
knowledge of the learning objective they got
over the weekend and tests their knowledge of the
base concepts that they're gonna need
to move forward to the activities in class ahead.
So I gave them 10 minutes to complete this.
And at 8:40 they immediately submitted all their answers
and then turned towards their teammates and began
to do a more low tech version of what
we call the team readiness assessment.
And so the team version is the same
five or 10 questions they did as an individual,
but now they take that assessment, this quiz
as a team.
So as soon as they began the room erupted and the team
began discussing question one.
And once the teams had decided on an answer,
so say answer choice B, they have a little scratch off
partial, kind of like a lottery ticket.
So they look at question one, it's choice B.
They scratch that off.
And if they see a start then they know they got
that answer correct to that question.
But if there's no start they know,
okay, now let's reassess question one.
It wasn't B.
What else could it be.
And they begin this discussion back and forth.
And we know that the answers,
we know that the students get the correct answer
'cause we hear this cheer comes up from the groups.
And they say, "Yes, we did it.
"We got it."
And you know when they get it wrong
'cause you hear them all going, "Oh,"
kind of moan.
So again this was the second 10 minutes.
So at the end of this process we've got
20 minutes at the beginning of the learning process
and what we've done is to bring all of the students
and their individual questions
up to a same level of understanding.
And so that's really at the core
of the readiness assessment process.
So on the individual test that they took first,
Mark, what do you think their average score was
in that individual part?
Mark: I'm gonna guess and say maybe an 84.
Craig: 83 actually, very close, very close.
So then I ask them, so they got an 83 and I said,
okay, which questions did you all struggle with as a team?
Right, this is after they've taken both the individual
and the group part.
And there was silence.
I waited eight, 10 seconds, 15 seconds.
And what had happened is all teams had scored
100% in that second team part in the 16 minutes.
So again, the class as a whole had gone from
a level of understanding of 83% once they did that team
part to 100%.
Mark: And does that type of thing happen
in older classes?
Craig: Well, I had a feeling that you might
ask this Mark.
So a stickler for evidence, so I actually
checked the scores before we came on the webinar here.
And so far in the semester do this every week
and the individual readiness average is 87.2%
and the team readiness average is actually 99.1%.
So not every time, but almost every time the teams
are scoring close to 100%,
again in groups of four to five individuals.
Mark: Craig you're an awesome teacher.
Craig: Thank you Mark.
Mark: Also, sorry to burst your bubble
that's exactly the same kind of thing that we see
when we look at the literature.
That's exactly in line with the data
on the courses that use this particular lift approach.
Same pattern across subjects and institutions use.
Are you crying Craig?
Craig: I'll survive.
Mark: Sorry.
So one study for example examined scores from
over 1600 teens across 20 years and found
that teams outscored their highest performing members
by an average of 11%.
Now, that's not just the individual average
versus the team average.
That's the highest scoring individual on the team
versus the team average.
Well Craig, what about the students that don't
do well on the individual readiness assessment.
I know the answer to this.
But Craig, let me ask you.
Why don't you tell everyone, how is this addressed.
Craig: Yeah, so the ones who don't do well
on the individual part first they have the opportunity
to learn from each there, right,
in that group or team readiness assessment.
But secondly after they've done both
the individual and the team readiness assessment
I have the opportunity to give a very
brief lecture that is in response
how they did on these questions.
Again, it focuses my lecture not on all the topics
that I think are important,
but on the topics that they have the most difficulty with.
And it allows us to bypass those topics that they
already understand or don't have trouble with.
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