Perception of team-based learning using the team-based learning student assessment instrument: an exploratory analysis within pharmacy and biomedical students in the United Kingdom.

Prabha Parthasarathy,Bugewa Apampa,Andrea Manfrin

doi:10.3352/jeehp.2019.16.23

Abstract

PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate students’ perception of team-based learning (TBL) amongst a cohort exposed to this methodology for the first time at a university in the United Kingdom.MethodsBetween November and December 2018, 26 first-year Master of Pharmacy and 90 second-year Biomedical Science students of the School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, United Kingdom were invited to participate and requested to complete a questionnaire that contained quantitative and qualitative questions. The quantitative component was based on the Team-Based Learning Student Assessment Instrument (TBL-SAI). It additionally contained questions about key student characteristics.ResultsThe response rate was 60% (70 of 116); of the participants, 74% (n=52) were females and 26% (n=18) males. The percentage of agreement in the TBL-SAI suggested a favourable response to TBL. The overall mean score for the TBL-SAI was 115.6 (standard deviation, 5.6; maximum score, 140), which was above the threshold of 102, thus suggesting a preference for TBL. Statistically significant differences were not found according to demographic characteristics. Students who predicted a final grade of ≥70% strongly agreed that TBL helped improve their grades. Some students highlighted issues with working in teams, and only 56% of students agreed that they could learn better in a team setting.ConclusionThis study shows that students exposed to TBL for the first time favoured several aspects of TBL. However, more focused strategies including team-building activities and expert facilitation skills could potentially tackle resistance to working in teams.

Highlights

In the United Kingdom (UK), students are generally accustomed to didactic teaching; Team-based learning (TBL) represents a shift to dialogic learning, which leads to new understanding and knowledge, greater student engagement, and improved thinking skills because meanings are constructed from the inside by learners in a dialogue instead of being imposed from outside
Internal consistency of the Team-Based Learning Student Assessment Instrument (TBL-SAI) The Cronbach α for the TBL-SAI (33 items) was 0.651; this low value was accepted due to the exploratory nature of the analysis, which is in line with the study conducted by Jeno et al [9] in 2017
The main aim of our study was to explore students’ perceptions of TBL when they were exposed to this methodology for the first time at university

Summary

Introduction

Team-based learning (TBL) was introduced in the United States as an alternative to traditional methods of teaching by Larry Michaelsen, and since it has become an increasingly popular. Starting in 2016, at the University of Sussex, we implemented TBL in a blended learning environment, supplementing and part-. In the UK, students are generally accustomed to didactic teaching; TBL represents a shift to dialogic learning, which leads to new understanding and knowledge, greater student engagement, and improved thinking skills because meanings are constructed from the inside by learners in a dialogue instead of being imposed from outside. The aim of the study was to evaluate students’ perception of TBL amongst a cohort of students who were exposed to this methodology for the first time at this university with the aim of informing future curriculum development. The hypothesis was to assess whether students favoured TBL over lectures

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