Team-based Course Research Articles

Fostering Community and Inclusion in a Team-Based Hybrid Bioengineering Lab Course.

As cornerstones of biomedical engineering and bioengineering undergraduate programs, hands-on laboratory experiences promote key skill development and student engagement. Lab courses often involve team-based activities and close communication with instructors, allowing students to build connection and community. Necessitated by the pandemic, changes to class delivery format presented unprecedented challenges to student inclusion and engagement, especially for students from underrepresented minority backgrounds. Here, we present a multi-faceted approach for fostering inclusion and community-building in a hybrid bioengineering laboratory course. A basis for this project was an approach for team-based project work which allowed students to have hands-on experience in the lab and collaborate extensively with peers, while abiding by social distancing guidelines. Members of each student team worked together remotely and synchronously on a project. One team member executed the hands-on portion of each lab activity and the remote student(s) engaged in the project via online communication. The hybrid lab course was supplemented with interventions to further promote inclusivity and community, including instructor modeling on inclusion, team-based course content, attention to lab session logistics, and instructor communication. Students responded positively, as indicated by the median ratings in course evaluations for the four lab sections in the following categories concerning course climate (using a 5.0 scale): their overall comfort with the climate of the course (4.8 to 5.0), feeling valued and respected by lab instructor (4.8 to 5.0) and their peers (4.8 to 5.0), peers helping each other succeed in the course (4.5 to 5.0), and the degree to which the experience in the course contributed to their sense of belonging in engineering (4.2 to 5.0). When asked to describe aspects of the class that contributed to inclusivity towards differences, students cited a collaborative environment, course content on implicit bias and inclusivity, and an approachable teaching team. Overall, our approach was effective in fostering a sense of community and inclusion. We anticipate many of these initiatives can transcend instructional format to positively impact future lab course offerings, irrespective of modality.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43683-022-00081-4.

Development and Implementation of a Health Equity-Focused Python and Machine Learning Module in an Introductory BME Course

Our first year biomedical engineering course exposes students to multiple engineering and design techniques within an overarching theme of understanding health inequity. Currently, the semester-long curriculum excludes computational methods such as Python programming and Machine Learning, which are usually not introduced until more advanced BME courses in the student’s third and fourth year. This paper details the development and student feedback of a 2-week computational module in a team-based course focused on health inequity. Google Colaboratory was used to host the modules and provide a coding environment for students. The end-of-semester survey indicated that 53% of students (N=127) agreed they gained a basic understanding of Python and were comfortable with the programming language and that 72% of students agreed that the module helped them understand the potential of Machine Learning to aid in analyzing health data and identifying health inequities. Student feedback indicated strong interest in spending additional time on a more in-depth project. Nonetheless, we were able to provide students experience with Python programming and Machine Learning. Further, there was a statistically significant increase (34% to 88%, p-value < 0.001) in students who “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that “I can define and ideate solutions for issues in health inequity.” This module enables first year students to use Python and Machine Learning to analyze health inequities and prepares them to apply computational methods in future courses. We have included links to all of the Python and Machine Learning guides, assignments, coding, and answer keys for educators to implement this module.

From Sherbrooke to Stratford and back again: Team teaching and experiential learning through “Shakesperience”

Attempting to teach theater in an English Literature course is a daunting prospect. A far cry from the highly individual experience of reading a novel or poem, theater is both a visual and communal kind of engagement. It is a challenge to capture this medium in a traditional lecture-based classroom and harder still to convey its three-dimensionality to undergraduate students. In this paper, we argue that experiential learning and team teaching are especially resonant in the exploration of Shakespearean studies because of the active and collaborative nature of his theater and plays. This paper draws out avenues for experiential learning in the humanities that should have broad applicability and interest a wide range of readers. Framing our design, implementation, and critical reflection in the relevant research, we provide an example of how to anchor experiential learning in the humanities in practice. The case study outlines a compact spring session course on Shakespeare’s plays and performance that includes in-class, online, and field study components. Our research reveals that this approach mirrors in several key ways the collaborative work at the heart of Shakespearean drama and of theater more generally: students are exposed to the plays on the page, on the stage, and behind the scenes; they are offered a model of collaborative knowledge-making both in the theater and in the team-based course design and delivery; and, with these examples before them, they are encouraged to take risks, to collaborate, and to form communities of their own in their learning. In the conclusion we devote attention to funding and the cost associated with experiential learning and field courses. This paper explores experiential learning and field-based immersive learning into the context of disciplinary-specific humanities classrooms with the goal of increasing interaction among students and enhancing students’ learning ( Béchard and Pelletier, 2001 ).

Social innovation and poster presentations: Service-learning for business students in a team-based course

This paper describes a course project that delivers the theoretical application of effective team processes through a unique blend of service-learning and social innovation. Through this project, student teams develop collaborative relationships with military veterans who are in the early stages of business development, resulting in both educational and social benefits for the students, veterans, and the surrounding community. The authors describe the design of the course project and partnership with veterans, as well as the interactive poster-presentation forum that showcases the results of these service-learning projects. We discuss relevant supporting theory and conclude with pedagogical recommendations for instructors.

Item response theory as a method to evaluate the goodness of fit for attitudes towards interprofessional healthcare teams

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the goodness of fit for two survey instruments that aim to assess students’ attitudes towards working in healthcare teams. Methods Retrospective analysis of student responses to two survey instruments prior to an interdisciplinary, team-based course. IRT was utilized to evaluate the goodness of fit for the survey instruments from the responses of three cohorts of students from six healthcare disciplines. Results 379 students completed the T-TAQ, and 388 students completed the CAP, which was developed from the RIPLS. IRT analysis indicated that the T-TAQ, as well as two of the subscales, poorly loaded onto a single construct. The CAP demonstrated good internal consistency, but upon further analysis multiple items within the tool demonstrated poor goodness of fit. Further analysis also revealed that the T-TAQ demonstrates the highest level of discriminatory ability for students who test low in terms of trait level (i.e. θ = −2), while the CAP best detects students with even lower trait levels in terms of attitudes towards working in healthcare teams (θ = −3). Conclusion IRT should be utilized in future studies to develop better fitting instruments for evaluating attitudes towards working in interdisciplinary healthcare teams. At present, there does not appear to be a tool for educators to use that contains well fitted items for evaluating outcomes in interdisciplinary healthcare coursework.

Emotional experiences of medical students during cadaver dissection and the role of memorial ceremonies: a qualitative study

BackgroundIt has been well reported that the emotional experiences of medical students in the gross anatomy laboratory could have significant impacts on their professional identity formation. This qualitative study aimed to investigate students’ emotions towards cadaver dissection and the educational role of memorial ceremonies.MethodsA total of 37 students from eight teams were recruited in the team-based dissection course during two consecutive academic years (2016 and 2017) at one medical school. In focus group interviews, students were encouraged to express and discuss their emotions regarding cadaver dissection and memorial ceremonies.ResultsThe participants described their apprehension and anxiety during their first encounter with cadavers that diminished through gradual exposure. Unfortunately, their positive emotions such as gratitude and responsibility also tended to decline under the pressure of excessive workloads and frequent examinations. Memorial ceremonies, including not only large-scale events but also daily rituals, had educational effects that they prevented the decline of students’ responsibility and respect during the dissection course.ConclusionEducators should assist medical students in overcoming their initial distress and maintaining respectful attitudes throughout the dissection course. Memorial ceremonies can be effective educational tools for fostering appropriate attitudes and ethical practice in the gross anatomy laboratory.

The Role of the WFSA in Reaching the Goals of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery.

The Role of the WFSA in Reaching the Goals of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery.

Does Team Formation Impact Student Performance, Effort and Attitudes in a College Course Employing Collaborative Learning?

The literature on team-based learning emphasizes the importance of team composition and team design, and it is recommended that instructors organize teams to ensure diversity of team members and optimal team performance. But does the method of team formation actually impact student performance? The goal of the present study was to examine whether different team formation methods would affect individual and team performance outcomes and student attitudes in an undergraduate general education course. Across three different sections of the same course, teams were either designed by the instructor, by the students, or randomly by a computer program. We found that teams designed by the course instructor were more diverse, but that students in these teams performed no better than their peers in self-selected or randomly assigned teams. Because student performance was similar regardless of team formation method, these findings suggest that student formed teams can be a reasonable option for instructors to consider when planning a team-based course.

Building and evaluating team-based competencies: Closing the loop

Team-based course and project work has become common in business and management education, and business schools are modifying their curriculum to include team-based activities to respond to desires of stakeholders. However, research and practice on how best to evaluate team-based competencies and use the information gathered to inform curriculum innovation in business schools is underdeveloped. In this paper, we shed light on key challenges associated with typical approaches (e.g., using students’ quantitative peer evaluations) used to inform program- and curriculum-level assessments of teamwork skills. To assist administrators, curriculum developers, and faculty alike, we offer a complementary approach that involves incorporating open-ended focus groups with students as an assessment tool for team based-competencies, as well as an informational tool for curriculum innovation. Our experience revealed that using these qualitative methods to examine team-based competencies offers new insights into curriculum and course development toward fostering teamwork skills, and providing students with more effective teamwork experiences.

Immersion team training in a realistic environment improves team performance in trauma resuscitation

In the US military, it is common for health care teams to be formed ad hoc and expected to function cohesively as a unit. Poor team dynamics decreases the effectiveness of trauma care delivery. The US Navy Fleet Surgical Team Three has developed a simulation-based trauma initiative-the Shipboard Surgical Trauma Training (S2T2) Course-that emphasizes team dynamics to improve the delivery of trauma care to the severely injured patient. The S2T2 Course combines classroom didactics with hands-on simulation over a period of 6days, culminating in a daylong, mass casualty scenario. Each resuscitation team was initially evaluated with a simulated trauma resuscitation scenario then retested on the same scenario after completing the course. A written exam was also administered individually both before and after the course. A survey was administered to assess the participants' perceived effectiveness of the course on overall team training. From the evaluation of 20 resuscitation teams made up of 123 medical personnel, there was a decrease in the mean time needed to perform the simulated trauma resuscitation, from a mean of 24.4minutes to 13.5minutes (P<.01), a decrease in the mean number of critical events missed, from 5.15 to 1.00 (P<.01), and a mean improvement of 41% in written test scores. More than 90% of participants rated the course as highly effective for improving team dynamics. A team-based trauma course with immersion in a realistic environment is an effective tool for improving team performance in trauma training. This approach has high potential to improve trauma care and patient outcomes. The benefits of this team-based course can be adapted to the civilian rural sector, where gaps have been identified in trauma care.

DIFFERENCES IN CONFLICT MANAGEMENT BASED ON GENDER AND PERSONALITY TYPE

This study examines factors influencing studentconflict management styles in a team-based second yearmechanical engineering design course. Maddux describedconflict management along the dimensions ofassertiveness (seeking to meet one’s own needs) andcooperativeness (seeking to meet the other party’s needs).The key research questions in this study were how conflictmanagement styles changed as a result of participation inan intense team-based course and whether gender orpersonality type influenced students’ conflict managementstyles. Students completed a pre-course team formationsurvey that included prompts on how they would deal withdifferent scenarios representing common team conflicts;students responded to the same prompts again in aproject exit survey. Students’ responses in these surveyswere used to code their preferred approach for dealingwith conflicts. Two independent reviewers worked fromrandomized, anonymous survey data and coded students’responses along the two dimensions of Maddux’ model.The results indicate conflict management style iscontext dependent (the distribution of responses changedfor the different survey prompts). The most commonlyused conflict management style was Compromising, inwhich parties find a middle ground but neither fullyachieves their goals. A statistically significant reductionin assertiveness was found between pre- and post-surveys.Statistically significant differences in assertiveness werealso noted with a number of Myers-Briggs personalitytype pairs in the pre-survey. The fact that similardifferences were not observed in the post-survey suggeststhat the project experience has a normalizing effect onconflict management style. Meaningful statisticallysignificant differences in conflict management style basedon gender were not observed.

Team-based learning for midwifery education.

Many US health care and education stakeholder groups, recognizing the need to prepare learners for collaborative practice in complex care environments, have called for innovative approaches in health care education. Team-based learning is an educational method that relies on in-depth student preparation prior to class, individual and team knowledge assessment, and use of small-group learning to apply knowledge to complex scenarios. Although team-based learning has been studied as an approach to health care education, its application to midwifery education is not well described. A master's-level, nurse-midwifery, didactic antepartum course was revised to a team-based learning format. Student grades, course evaluations, and aggregate American Midwifery Certification Board examination pass rates for 3 student cohorts participating in the team-based course were compared with 3 student cohorts receiving traditional, lecture-based instruction. Students had mixed responses to the team-based learning format. Student evaluations improved when faculty added recorded lectures as part of student preclass preparation. Statistical comparisons were limited by variations across cohorts; however, student grades and certification examination pass rates did not change substantially after the course revision. Although initial course revision was time-consuming for faculty, subsequent iterations of the course required less effort. Team-based learning provides students with more opportunity to interact during on-site classes and may spur application of knowledge into practice. However, it is difficult to assess the effect of the team-based learning approach with current measures. Further research is needed to determine the effects of team-based learning on communication and collaboration skills, as well as long-term performance in clinical practice. This article is part of a special series of articles that address midwifery innovations in clinical practice, education, interprofessional collaboration, health policy, and global health.

Exploring learning how to learn in a team-based engineering education

Purpose– In this paper, the authors aim to explore how students learn how to learn in a team-based graduate course Designing for Open Innovation using a theoretical framework that focuses on the cognitive functions of team-based processes and team performance.Design/methodology/approach– An automated assessment methodology for the structural and semantic analysis of individual and shared knowledge representations serves as a foundation for the approach. A case study is presented that explores the development of individual mental models and shared mental models over the course.Findings– An assessment of the mental models indicates that in this course three types of learning took place, namely individual learning, team-based learning, and learning from each other.Originality/value– The automatically generated graphical representations provide insight into the complex processes of the learning-dependent development of individual mental models and shared mental models.

Knacktive: Answering a Call for More Interdisciplinary, Collaborative, Educational Experiences

Knacktive is a one-term course that incorporates a highly select group of undergraduate students and replicates the intense teamwork atmosphere of a technology-oriented, professional marketing communication agency. As an interdisciplinary learning opportunity, Knacktive melds students from five disciplines—including art and graphic design, interactive digital media and computer science, public relations, journalism and media studies, and marketing and business management—into an interactive, team-based course facilitated by five faculty members representing the disciplines. Although other college-level student agencies exist, many are staffed by students from only one discipline. Utilizing active research methodology, faculty reflections resulted in course changes that significantly improved course functionality. Student achievements included client implementation of many of the student team-developed concepts and promotional materials. Student reflections collectively viewed the agency-like process as a “brutal” but rewarding experience. The students also noted that the experience helped develop more professional attitudes about meetings, deadlines, interpersonal communications, collegiality, teamwork, and problem solving skills.

Reality-based learning: Outbreak, an engaging introductory course in public health and epidemiology

Objective: To develop a totally online reality-based course that engages students and enables the development of enhanced teamwork and report-writing skills. Setting: Outbreaks of infectious diseases impacts upon commerce, trade and tourism as well as placing strains on healthcare systems. A general course introducing university students to epidemiology and public health would help public education into the consequences of worldwide outbreaks. Methods: Scaffolding of course activities was used to enable students to build upon skill acquisition and development. Student feedback was used to continuously improve the course. Results: The course enables around 80 students per year to engage efficiently and effectively with the courseware. Student satisfaction was high and has improved with fine-tuning of the course. Conclusions: We have developed an effective team-based course that has high student engagement and satisfaction. The model could be used to effectively deliver other science-based courses online.

Cultivating Research and Information Skills in Civil Engineering Undergraduate Students

The ASCE’s body of knowledge for the 21st century and vision for civil engineering in 2025 outline skills and capabilities necessary for civil engineers to create a sustainable world. An undergraduate course at Georgia Institute of Technology introduces undergraduates to a systems-sustainability approach to civil and environmental engineering, applying systems methods to analyze decisions over the life cycle of large-scale civil-engineered facilities. This paper discusses voluntary and systematic improvements introduced in the course over a 2-year period to develop research and information skills in the students. A workshop on information sources and skills was developed, offered and assessed over multiple semesters using a team-based course project. The term project requires students to select one or two large-scale civil-engineered facilities, evaluate them using the integrated systems-sustainability framework presented in the course, and develop a written report and oral presentation to present their w...

Students' Evaluation of a Team-based Course on Research and Publication Ethics: Attitude Change in Medical School Graduate Students

In response to a growing need for students to appreciate ethical issues in medical research and publication, a brief team-based learning (TBL) course was presented to graduate students in the medical school of Hallym University in October and November 2007. To gather information as a basis for improving the course, questionnaires were distributed to 19 students and the feedback was evaluated. The questionnaire consisted of four categories: general course content (7 items), changes in attitudes toward research and publication ethics (6 items), the TBL format (6 items), and an open-ended question about the class (1 item). The most positive response had to do with the importance of the material. Students reported that their knowledge about ethical issues increased, and they expressed satisfaction regarding the communication with their tutors within the TBL format. Most students showed positive responses to the subject as well as to TBL. Since this was the first trial offering of this material in the graduate program at this medical school, it may have been novel to the students. The attitude change and the knowledge acquisition reported by students reflect a very positive outcome of this class. After adjustments to improve weaknesses, such as the short time allocation and students' lack of prior background, the outcomes of this TBL course on research and publication ethics provide a good basis for its continuation.

Facilitating team-based course designing with conceptual mapping

A method of rendering the design of a course visible for the purpose of discussion amongst the members of course development teams is described. The paper begins by examining the way in which design is manifested in the area of course materials development and the approaches that have been used in attempting to document designs. The strengths and limitations of the conceptual mapping method are examined and the way in which the method has been used to facilitate the work of course development teams is described. Additional uses of the method and possibilities for future enhancements of the method are discussed.