The literature on team-based learning emphasizes the importance of team composition and team design, and it is recommended that instructors organize teams to ensure diversity of team members and optimal team performance. But does the method of team formation actually impact student performance? The goal of the present study was to examine whether different team formation methods would affect individual and team performance outcomes and student attitudes in an undergraduate general education course. Across three different sections of the same course, teams were either designed by the instructor, by the students, or randomly by a computer program. We found that teams designed by the course instructor were more diverse, but that students in these teams performed no better than their peers in self-selected or randomly assigned teams. Because student performance was similar regardless of team formation method, these findings suggest that student formed teams can be a reasonable option for instructors to consider when planning a team-based course.
As a coordinator ofteaching technologies anddirector ofa center'forteaching in a large research university, wehave worked collaboratiuely over the lastyearto achieve a common goal: toimplement andrefine severalfaculty development initiatives thatcreate linkages among the domains ofteaching; learning, and technology. In this case stIU!)', wewilldescribe the kinds of programs we've developed and summarize lessons we've learned. we hope thatfaculty developers on other campuses who aregrappling withhow to define their mission related totechnology andhow towork withfaculty tointegrate teaching andtechnology can adapt some ofwhathas worked soellfor us.T he use of instructional media in the classroom has long been identified as a "fourth revolution" in education (Ashby, 1967). It has the potential to reshape the role ofthe instructor from a knowledge conveyer to a guide and coach, while students take a more active role in the learning process. No longer are the textbook and instructor the sources of all knowledge; instead, the faculty member becomes the director of the knowledge-access process (Heinich, Molenda, Russell, & Smaldino, 1996). In this way, instructional technology refers not so much to the actual use of technological tools as much as it does to the process of developing overall goals and strategies for enhancing teaching and learning that incorporate these tools. At its best, technology-based learning can help teachers support a wider range oflearning styles, facilitate active 151 152To Improve the Academy learning in the classroom, use faculty time and expertise more effectively, and familiarize students with technology that will be vital for their futures in the world of work.In our experience, faculty are both greatly excited and daunted by the promise and power of teaching technologies. Our students have grown up in a "high technology" environment and are well adept at the use of TV, videotape, computers, and the Internet as information exchange tools. Many faculty, on the other hand, struggle to learn new technologies and to see how they might be useful to them as teachers. At the same time, administrators, eager to better use limited resources, are ramping up resources for technology and urging that faculty get on board. This combination of faculty members' intrinsic interest in learning something new, fear of falling behind in understanding of instructional technology, and awareness of institutional pressures to use technological innovations has presented faculty developers with a variety of instructional challenges. How can we best work together with faculty to explore methods for integrating teaching and technology in ways that create a better learning environment for students?As a coordinator ofteaching technologies and director ofa center for teaching in a large research university, we have worked collaboratively over the last year to achieve a common goal: to implement and refine several faculty development initiatives that create linkages among the domains ofteaching, learning, and technology....
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