{"id":881,"date":"2014-12-02T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2014-12-02T14:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/?p=881"},"modified":"2015-04-14T11:51:36","modified_gmt":"2015-04-14T15:51:36","slug":"hbs-shares-how-to-make-class-discussions-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2014\/12\/02\/hbs-shares-how-to-make-class-discussions-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"HBS Shares: How to Make Class Discussions Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Participation Tracking Tool<\/em><\/p>\n

Yesterday, we got to learn how our friends at Harvard Business School are thinking critically about call patterns and grading in case-based classes. HLS Case Studies came together with case-based programs across the university on Tuesday for the second meeting of the Harvard Affinity Group for Case Studies, an open partnership forged to share best practices and advance case-based learning.<\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/a>

Paul Craig<\/p><\/div>\n

At the meeting, Paul Craig, Associate Director of Learning Technologies at HBS\u2019s Educational Technology Services, shared how HBS tracks class participation<\/a>. Based on an earlier tool developed by Professor Benjamin Edelman with input from other faculty and the Christensen Center for Teaching and Learning, HBS created a custom tool that helps professors not only record participation, but also learn about their students.\u00a0 Professors utilize the tool to understand both semester-long and class-by-class trends in discussion.<\/p>\n

HBS operates primarily on the case study method of teaching. Professors are presented with a challenging environment for facilitating discussion: required courses at HBS enroll about 90 students in each section, all in seats preassigned by the registrar. At an institution where participation comprises up to 50% of a student\u2019s grade, professors must fairly facilitate and assess discussions that last over an hour while avoiding distracting and scrutinizing behaviors like taking notes.<\/p>\n

Willis Emmons, Director of the Christensen Center for Teaching and Learning at HBS, chimed in to explain that quality is co-produced by student and instructor: the more a professor stays with and probes a student, the more that student can develop a quality response. To grade fairly, professors must manage the discussion with both equity and depth.<\/p>\n

Designed to address these concerns, the participation tracker is a web-based tool for easily logging the student\u2019s name and comment, with live time-stamping enabled. While the professors lead discussion, staff scribes use the participation tracker to record comments. The tool also allows scribes to note whether a student was observed to be absent or cold-called. Rather than keep a full transcript of the class session, the scribes make brief notes to jog the professor\u2019s memory about the comment. The scribes never read the case and thus intentionally cannot suggest the quality of the comment. The scribes rotate through the class sections to preclude any favoritism or student influence.<\/p>\n

After class, the professor can review and edit the scribe\u2019s notes, assign values to the participation, and mark excused and unexcused absences. The tool also provides web-based and print-out class cards with a student\u2019s picture, background, and name pronunciation.<\/p>\n

Once the participation grades are assigned and finalized, the tool offers the professor statistics that can improve her classroom facilitation. A color-coded report presented as a seating chart displays who spoke most recently, who participated the most or least, and who has gone the longest without participating in a class session. Statistics in other reports compare the demographic breakdown (male\/female and US\/non-US) of the class with the percentage of comments and cold-calls for each demographic. The same comparisons are applied to the rows and sections of a room, to see if a professor tends to call on, for example, the back of the class or the left side. To show progress, the tool also provides data about a student\u2019s participation and a professor\u2019s call patterns over time. With this information, professors can be more thoughtful about how to avoid bias and give every student a fair chance to speak.<\/p>\n

The tool was designed to support the professor\u2019s discretion: it is flexible enough to accommodate different participation grading systems, and the design of its analytics favors neither quality nor quantity of participation as a standard. Craig explains that the tool needed to be flexible to be adopted widely.<\/p>\n

Craig\u2019s team is exploring LTI (learning tool interoperability), with the potential to bring the participation tracker to other institutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Participation Tracking Tool Yesterday, we got to learn how our friends at Harvard Business School are thinking critically about call patterns and grading in case-based classes. HLS Case Studies came together with case-based programs across the university on Tuesday … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5482,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88577],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-experiential-learning-and-the-case-study-method"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4CR8M-ed","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":791,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2014\/04\/29\/case-studies-around-the-university-training-med-students-to-think-with-authority\/","url_meta":{"origin":881,"position":0},"title":"Case Studies around the University: Training Med Students to Think with Authority","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"April 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Medical schools have traditionally trained doctors through a combination of cramming and clinicals. But Harvard Medical School, like Harvard Law School, has recognized the value of the problem solving pedagogy and participatory learning. Since 1985, HMS has incorporated case-based tutorials into the \u201cNew Pathway\u201d curriculum. The tutorials at HMS are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Study Program Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Case Study Program Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/case-study-program-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2014\/04\/HMS-500x331.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1090,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2016\/03\/23\/new-product-the-allergan-board-under-fire-a-and-b\/","url_meta":{"origin":881,"position":1},"title":"NEW PRODUCT: The Allergan Board Under Fire (A) and (B)","author":"Amanda Reilly","date":"March 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Case Development Initiative (CDI) at Harvard Law School recently debuted a new case study on the HLS Case Studies website. CDI develops role plays and case studies based on strategic and organizational issues faced by legal organizations. These cases focus on real life situations and are suitable for law\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Coates (5)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2016\/03\/Coates-5-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2016\/03\/Coates-5-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2016\/03\/Coates-5-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":974,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2015\/05\/26\/top-challenges-for-case-study-programs\/","url_meta":{"origin":881,"position":2},"title":"Top Challenges for Case Study Programs","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"May 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"What gets in the way of case study adoption? The Case Studies Affinity Group, a consortium of Harvard-affiliated case programs, took up this question during its quarterly meeting on May 12. The Affinity Group welcomed as panelists Carolyn Wood, Assistant Academic Dean\u00a0& Director of SLATE and the Case Program, Harvard\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":685,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2014\/02\/12\/case-studies-conversations-exec-ed-director-scott-westfahl-88\/","url_meta":{"origin":881,"position":3},"title":"Case Studies Conversations: Exec Ed Director Scott Westfahl \u201988","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"February 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Professor Scott Westfahl \u201988, the new faculty director of HLS Executive Education, has been using case studies to train better lawyers for years. Not only did Westfahl serve as Director of Professional Development for Goodwin Procter LLP and Chair of the Professional Development Consortium, but he has also co-taught a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Development Initiative Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Case Development Initiative Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/case-development-initiative-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2014\/02\/westfahl_s_l_150x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":495,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2013\/07\/23\/summer-reading-legal-educations-9-big-ideas-part-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":881,"position":4},"title":"Summer Reading: Legal Education\u2019s 9 Big Ideas, Part 3","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"July 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It All Started With the Case Study Last week we shared with you \u201cThe Four Cs,\u201d proposed solutions to the crisis in legal education. We have one more to consider: the Case Study Method. Let\u2019s call it the Fifth C. Law schools have been teaching the case method for well\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Legal News and Debate"","block_context":{"text":"Legal News and Debate","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/legal-news-and-debate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2013\/07\/Langdell.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":831,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2014\/07\/22\/the-problem-solving-workshop-a-video-introduction\/","url_meta":{"origin":881,"position":5},"title":"The Problem Solving Workshop: A Video Introduction","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"July 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Lisa Brem, Case Studies Program Manager The Problem Solving Workshop (PSW)\u2014a mandatory first-year course at Harvard Law School\u2014has been successfully integrated into the curriculum for five years. The course is a major departure from the rest of the first-year doctrinal courses, focusing instead on hands-on participation from students and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Problem Solving Workshop Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Problem Solving Workshop Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/problem-solving-workshop-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/cUTXCD4A968\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5482"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=881"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":884,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881\/revisions\/884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}