Assessing team‐based learning method’s effectiveness in medical pharmacology teaching (719.8)

Abstract

One of the major challenges medical school students face is the arduous task of learning enormous amount of material in a short period of time. Team Based Learning (TBL) is one among the several methods that are being increasingly used in medical schools around the world, to make the learning process easier and more effective. In the medical school in Grand Cayman, TBL is being used for over 4 years as an effective way to actively involve students in the learning process. This study aims to assess the student perceptions of TBL both in the short term and long term. In the medical pharmacology course (MPC), TBL sessions include an individual online quiz, followed by students working in groups to answer the same quiz after active discussion. In order to quantify the student perceptions of TBL, we conducted a point based survey among the students taking MPC currently and in those who completed the course 4 months earlier; to assess the short‐term and long‐term impact respectively. The survey questionnaire consisted of 20 items that can be answered in 20 minutes time. The items in the questionnaire were designed to address the student perceptions of TBL design, content and team work. The survey also had an open box to capture any additional comments by the students. The responses were quantified by way of points (Strongly disagree= ‐2, disagree= ‐1, neutral = 0, agree= +1, strongly agree=+2) and the sum of the responses obtained from the current students was compared with the responses from the past students. Both the current and the past students of MPC had positive learning experience. Although the current students had a more positive experience, majority of them said that they did not prepare for the TBLs but learnt from them. The results of this study are the key drivers for many changes we are planning to make to the TBL sessions’ frequency, design and content.