Deb Murphey playing CRAPs

Playing CRAPs in English& 102??

Deb Murphey, a Senior Associate faculty in the English Department, has added a new twist to an activity that she and Heather Uhl (Library) have been doing in Deb’s ENGL& 102 class.

Heather introduced Deb and her class to the C.R.A.P.  test (most commonly attributed to Dominican University) as a way to evaluate sources for their research paper. Previously, this was a mid-quarter check, took a lot of time, was tedious to grade, and while students got a lot out of the exercise, Deb felt that it could be a little more engaging. As usual, she had planned for a mid-quarter check of sources using the C.R.A.P. test in Spring Quarter, and as usual, everyone came to class that day with their sources, but here’s where things changed: using the large dice that Deb is pictured holding, she told students that they were going to play C.R.A.P.s. Like the real game of craps, it’s all based on chance; she rolls the dice, and the number that comes up indicate the group number that is now on the hot seat. Then that group rolls the dice, and whatever number comes up, that’s the person in the group who goes to the front of the room and reviews their source (could be books, newspapers, journal articles…) for the rest of the class. The class is then responsible for “voting” – using the C.R.A.P. test handout – whether this is a good source to use for the student’s research paper. If the student gets at least a 7/10 average in each category for their source (with all students voting) they get a passing grade!

Deb said that using this twist on the activity has had positive results. One is a greater level of engagement in the evaluation of sources. Students came prepared to class! And, rather than Deb having to complete the review for every student herself, there is a random selection of students who must present, and students who do not present are awarded points for their preparation for the day.

Another positive result is that the class discussion about sources is now quite rich. Students ask the presenter about other sources they might have considered and offer support and encouragement to the presenters.

Finally, Deb said that her retention in 3/3 ENGL& 102 classes in Spring Quarter 2015 is the highest it’s ever been!

Want to know more? Contact Deb at dmurphey@everettcc.edu. She’d be happy to share more about it with you!

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