81 CATME (Automatic Group Creation) with Courtney Seidel — 10.13.2017

In the October 13, 2017 Active Teaching Lab, Courtney Seidel shared how to make better groups for better learning using CATME and Canvas. 

CATME is a tool that allows instructors to automatically create useful student learning groups based on their skills, interests, grades, gender, or a host of other options. Participants brought their laptops and mobile devices to get hands-on experience with the CATME and Canvas tools from both the teacher and student perspective. 

Takeaways

• Transparency in the group formation process helps students understand why they are distributed. Student-selected teams are often just “social entities” (Brickell et al, 1994).
• Purposeful group construction helps students get outside their social circles. Instructors may create teams based on diversity — or similarity of schedule.
• With a department or university CATME license, there is no student fee.
• Team-Based Learning works to eliminate the social loafer by putting them in teams where their strengths are promoted.
• Tip: Use your wisc.edu address because CATME verifies your faculty (vs. student) status before granting an instructor account.

Active Teaching Labs are held Fridays from 8:30-9:45am (and every other Thursday from 1-2pm, see events calendar for dates) in room 120, Middleton Building. Check out upcoming labs or read recaps from past labs. To stay informed about upcoming Labs, sign up for regular announcements by sending an email to join-activeteaching@lists.wisc.edu.

Watch Courtney’s Story and our lab discussion here: