Overview of Team-Based Learning

Overview of Team-Based Learning Professor Cho Cho Oo Professor and Head Department of Microbiology

Team-Based Learning u

Pedagogical method developed as a response to the problems of large classes

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Developed by Larry K. Michaelsen in the University of Oklahoma Business School

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In the late 1970s as a response to some of the problems he encountered when teaching courses with large scale sizes

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To get necessary skills to thrive in a professional environment

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Grew in popularity in the early 2000s after the Baylor College of Medicine won a grant to incorporate TBL into many of their programs, curricula

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Lead to other US Medical Schools’ adopting a TBL approach

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Has spread to countries in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East

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Has been incorporated into many different fields, both health related and non-health-related

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At the undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing professional education levels

TBL sequence u

Team formation

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Readiness assurance

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Group application exercises

Team formation u

Using the transparent process

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5 to 7 students

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Small enough to work cohesively

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Large enough to have the adequate intellectual resources

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Heterogeneity within teams

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Homogeneity across teams

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Try to distribute student assets

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Split up any preformed coalitions (friends)

Readiness assurance u

Readiness assurance process (RAP) occurs in 4 parts

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Individual readiness assurance tests (iRATs)

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Team readiness assurance tests (tRATs)

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Appeals

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Instruction

Group application exercises u

To assess higher order levels

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Typically follow the 4 –S format

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Address a significant problem

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Terms have to make a specific choice among clear alternatives

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Every team works on the same problem

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Teams simultaneously report their decisions

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After which there is usually a class discussion about each team’s conclusions and rationales

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Include both inter and intra group discussion

Grading u

Based on the combination of

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Individual performance (e.g., iRAT scores, final exam grades)

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Group performance (e.g., tRAT scores, scores from Group exercises)

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Peer evaluations (e.g., individual preparation, respectful communication)

Take Home Messages u

TBL is a relatively new pedagogy in medical education.

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As a learning tool, it enables a large group of students to take part in small-group learning experiences without a large number of faculty.

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Students are attracted to the active and collaborative approach of TBL

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Faculty are interested in its integrated approach to developing students’ professionalism skills such as leadership, communication and team work.

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TBL offers resource-saving measures for medical schools