Going virtual and going wide: comparing Team-Based Learning in-class versus online and across disciplines

Abstract

Team-based learning (TBL) is an active learning pedagogy developed for in-class sessions and based on the collaborative work of small groups of students. The increasing push to online and blended learning has enhanced the need to expand this pedagogy to a virtual environment, but little evidence has been produced on how students accept online synchronous sessions of TBL. The purpose of this study, that relies on 427 responses, is to present a comparative perspective of traditional in-class versus adapted fully synchronous online TBL and across different disciplinary fields. Students of two different academic years and different programs were surveyed for their acceptance of TBL. They were invited to answer closed-ended questions focused on their engagement in all TBL learning process and the final outcomes provided. Results obtained from this unique comparative study revealed a wide approval of TBL, regardless of the environment (online or in-class TBL sessions), scientific area of courses and student gender. The acceptance of fully online TBL sessions, in a similar way as traditional in-class sessions, could be a rationale for giving more use to the ‘virtual’ context. Other results corroborated previous researches on TBL, such the need of student awareness of TBL benefits to get more engaged in the process or the impact of student activities overload on the TBL process. Implications are informative for pedagogical practice.

Implementing Team-Based Learning: Findings From a Database Class

“…This is certainly an important lesson related to collaborative learning processes in the classroom. Indeed, prior research has highlighted findings that suggest there are differences in team-based learning perceptions by gender (Fowler & Su, 2018) and that a better understanding of how gender impacts the acceptance of team-based learning is necessary (Silva et al, 2021). This difference in our data is particularly important as gender inequality in the field of IT is well cited with regard to an underrepresentation of women in the field (Serenko & Turel, 2021).…”

“…The second phase is focused on a student readiness assessment process (RAP), in which students complete individual testing (iRAP) as well as team testing (tRAP) and a written appeal if necessary. Key aspects of the readiness assessment process include the individual accountability necessary for the individual assessment and the immediate feedback which takes place during the team assessment (McCord et al, 2015;Silva et al, 2021). The second phase also includes mini lectures to further explain any problem areas identified in the testing results.…”

“…The instructional strategy of team-based learning, including student preparation, the student readiness assessment process, and concept application with feedback, has been successful in a number of different disciplines (e.g., business, communications, health, management, and sciences) (Choi et al, 2021;Elnagar & Ali, 2012;Haberyan, 2007;River et al, 2016;Thomas, 2012). The use of team-based learning offers many benefits to students as solving problems with peers can lead to the development of expertise and higher level thinking skills (Silva et al, 2021). One study of team-based learning, in an introduction to programming course, found that the adoption of this methodology decreased course drop rates (Lasserre & Szostak, 2011).…”

“…From the faculty point of view, implementing team-based learning in the classroom does change the role of the instructor to more of a facilitator and guide as student teams become more reliant on one another for teaching and learning of course concepts (Silva et al, 2021). Faculty who are interested in piloting a similar process in their classroom can find a wealth of books (e.g., Michaelsen et al, 2002), faculty training opportunities, or other resources (Epstein Educational Enterprises, 2022) to get started.…”

“…Finally, there has been some research of team-based learning in an online environment (e.g., Choi et al, 2021;Goh et al, 2020;Gomez et al, 2009;Gomez & Bieber, 2005;Parrish et al, 2021;Silva et al, 2021). This exploration would be particularly interesting in relation to online education and the use of team-based learning for assessment.…”