CAT
2: The Muddiest Point (Assesses
Prior Knowledge, Recall, & Understanding)
Estimated
levels of time/energy required to
prepare, to respond (students), and
to analyze: LOW
Description: Students
respond to the question: 1) What was
the muddiest point in ______? This
can assess a lecture, discussion, homework
assignment, play, film, etc.
Purpose: Understanding
what students find least clear or most
confusing helps instructors decide
whether instructional adjustments need
to be made. When instructors respond
to students’ responses, students
learn how experts in a given discipline
distinguish major points from details.
Additionally, students’ questions
are made visible in time to facilitate
further learning.
Procedure:
Decide
what you wish to assess with the
Muddiest Point. If your interest
is in the understanding of a homework
assignment, the first few minutes
of class may be most appropriate.
If you wish to assess their recall
of the content of material presented
in class, then last few minutes of
class may be most appropriate.
Using
the basic question from the Description
above, write a prompt that fits your
course and students. It is often
a good idea to try your prompt on
a colleague or teaching assistant
before using in class to ensure clarity
of the question.
Plan
to use 5 to 10 minutes of class for
the initial implementation
and 5 to 10 minutes in the subsequent
class to discuss the results.
Prepare
the one or two questions to be display-ready
by writing it on the board, a transparency,
or digitally projected. They could
also be written on a half-sheet of
paper and distributed to the students.
It is important the prompts are presented
in writing. Do not only read the
question(s).
Hand
out index cards or half-sheets of
paper. It is best if students do
not write their names, unless there
is a very good reason to know who
wrote which comments.
Explain
the time limit, appropriate format
of answers, and when they will receive
feedback. Two to five minutes is
usually enough time. Responses range
from words or phrases to short sentences.
Examples:
Course :
Political Science: International Relations
Lecture: Decline & Fall of the
Soviet Union
This CAT
was used in a senior-level honors class
to assess understanding of a pre-recorded
videotape, which was an hour-long speech
to Washington, D.C.-based foreign policy
consultants and journalists.
Course:
General Chemistry
This CAT
was used to assess students’ understanding
of a lecture on enthalpy and entropy.
After reading responses, the instructor
realized that many students had not
firmly grasped the differences and
probably did not understand either
principle in isolation.
Adaptations/Extensions:
Ask students
to read each other’s drafts
of writing assignments and discuss
the muddiest points.
Ask a
few students to categorize, summarize,
and present the muddiest points to
the class.
Suggestions: Respond
to students' feedback the very next
time class meets. Responding to students’ feedback
may take longer than anticipated because
questions lead to other questions.
Set clear time limits. To temper expectations
and disappointment, let students know
you will not comment on everything.
Also note that you may need to explain
to students how to write a good muddiest
point response that is actually helpful.
Generalizations such as, “I didn’t
get any of it,” are not as helpful,
as “I didn’t understand
the basis for the theory.”
References
and Resources:
Mosteller,
F. (1989). The "muddiest point
in the lecture" as a feedback
device. On Teaching and Learning:
The Journal of the Harvard-Danforth
Center, 3, 10-21.
