CATS for Course Beginnings

1
CATS for Course Beginnings

• Original by Mike Toole
• Asst. Prof.
• Civil Environmental Engineering
• Modified
• by W. J. Snyder

2
Assessment Outcomes for this session

• To apply the Kolb Learning Inventory, skill
  assessment and student interviews in selecting
  team members (for better or worse)
• To practice prediction of team performance given
  some information on the student learners
• To demonstrate the importance of assessment in
  course design for cooperative learning
• To make you uncomfortable

3
What Do We Mean by Assessment?

• Getting information on the status of something
• gtgt Course Beginning CATS are intended to provide
  us with information about our students to allow
  us to maximize their learning

4
What might we want to know about our new students?

• What are their expectations for the course and
  for you?
• What knowledge and skills do they bring to the
  course?
• Group formation information
• What are their individual learning styles and
  preferences?
• What are their personal background information
  and interests?

5
Specific CATS

• Goals matching exercise
• Learning styles inventory
• Knowledge and skills questionnaire or test
• Personal biography questionnaire
• Team Contract

6
Goals Matching Exercise

• Handout from Angelo, T. A. and K. P. Cross,
  Classroom Assessment Techiques A Handbook for
  College Teachers, 2nd Edition. San Francisco
  Jossey-Bass, 1993, shown in Millis, B. J. and P.
  G. Cottell, Jr., Cooperative Learning for Higher
  Education Faculty. Pheonix Oryx Press, 1998, p.
  45.

7
Learning Styles Inventory

• Felder, Kolb, MBI

8
Knowledge and skills

• Informal questionnaire
• Using a 1-10 scale, please rate your ability
  to
• In what courses have you learned or applied.
• Formal assessment (graded test)

9
Personal Biography Questionnaire

• Why choose major, college, etc.
• Career plans or questions
• Hobbies, free time activities, favorite foods or
  tv show
• Learning preferences, habits

10
Time for Action(for Kolb 2and 3s)

• Rank the type of information most important to
  you at course beginning
• Expectations
• Knowledge and skills
• Learning style
• Personal background and interests
• Other

11
More Action(For Kolb 2 and 3s)

• Draft 3-10 questions for a background and skills
  questionnaire or survey for your course.
• Draft 2-5 questions for a personal biography
  questionnaire.

12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
(No Transcript)
16
Time for Action(for Kolb 1 and 4s)

• Now that you have seen the movies, heard the
  stories, and examined the assessment information,
  please predict level of team performance for this
  group of students and state reasons for your
  prediction.

17
(No Transcript)
18
CONCLUSIONDecision-Making

• If you have a chance to choose between being
  lucky or being good, choose
• LUCKY