IF-AT® ANSWER SHEETS

A PRACTICAL AND EFFECTIVE APPROACH FOR PROVIDING IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK

The IF-AT forms are self-scoring answer sheets that provide immediate affirmative and/or corrective feedback for the team Readiness Assessment Tests (RATs). With the IF-AT answer sheets, students scratch off the covering of one of four (or five) boxes in search of a mark that indicates they have found the correct answer. If they find the mark on the first try, they receive full credit. If not, they continue scratching until they do find the mark, but their score is reduced with each unsuccessful scratch. This allows teams to receive partial credit for proximate knowledge (see below).

IMPROVING BOTH LEARNING AND TEAM DEVELOPMENT WITH IF-ATs

The IF-AT answer sheets are, without question, the single best way to provide timely feedback on the team RATs (Not the individual Rats - otherwise, members would know the answers before the team test).

The immediate feedback provides two key benefits to the teams:

• One is that they enable members to quickly correct their misconceptions of the subject matter. Finding a star immediately confirms the validity of their choice, but finding a blank box lets them know they have more work to do.
• The other even more important benefit is that, with no input whatsoever from the instructor, teams quickly learn how to work together effectively.

In fact, IF-ATs virtually eliminate any possibility that one or two members might dominate team discussions. "Pushy" members are only one scratch away from having to "eat crow" and quiet members are one scratch away from being validated as a valuable source of information and two scratches away from being told that they need to speak up. The positive impact of the IF-AT on team development is nothing short of astounding. In our judgment, using the IF-ATs with the team RATs is the single most powerful tool for promoting team development in existence. Anyone who isn't using them is missing a surefire way to increase their effectiveness at implementing TBL.

The IF-AT forms can be ordered from the website: http://www.epsteineducation.com. When you order a set of forms, they come with different patterns of correct answers; this prevents students from simply memorizing the patterns. The teacher receives a key as to where the correct answers are located on any given set of forms. Further, because they are only used for the team tests and can often be used for more than one RAT, an initial order often covers the needs of several users and/or several years of use. Thus, the cost of the forms is quite reasonable.