Team-based Learning
What is Team Based Learning?
An increasingly applied form of collaborative learning is Team-based Learning (TBL). Team-based Learning is a form of collaborative learning that uses a specific sequence of individual work, group work and direct feedback to create a motivational framework in which students increasingly hold each other responsible for preparing to participate in classroom activities and contributing to discussion. In this learning activity, the emphasis is on application rather than knowledge. The student is actively involved in the subject matter and the role of the teacher is more tutoring in nature.
TBL is a 'flipped classroom concept' in which the learning process of the learners is central and stimulates both individual and group responsibility in the learning process. This method is designed to promote active, motivated and sustainable learning within a study group.
Where many of the traditional forms of work generally focus on 'remembering' and 'understanding' the individual cognitive processes, TBL goes further and focuses on 'analysis' and 'application' of what has been learned, on learning to communicate and collaborate.
In addition, skills such as listening, presenting arguments and being able to articulate thoughts are addressed. Within TBL the following paradigm shifts take place:
The purpose of education or training shifts from 'knowing to being able';
The role of teacher/teacher shifts from expert to tutor;
The role of student shifts from passive to active;
Responsibility for learning shifts from teacher/teacher to student;
Process of teacher-centered-teaching shifts to student-centered learning.
"TBL goes beyond remembering and understanding. It focuses on analysis and application of what has been learnt".
Why and how does TBL work?
With the TBL design principles, TBL connects to the five key instructional principles that lay the foundation for effective learning (Merrill, 2012):
Learning takes place on the basis of real-life practical problems/authentic professional tasks in small groups;
Prioro knowledge is activated;
New learning is applied;
Newly acquired knowledge is integrated and transfer takes place;
Newly acquired knowledge and understanding are presented to fellow students.
TBL follows a fixed working method and consists of the following elements:
self-study;
individual testing;
team testing;
application sessions;
peer feedback.
These five elements are explained below.
Self-study
Learners receive study material to prepare them individually for contact education. The preparation assignment is tailored to the level and phase of the education where the learners are located.
Individual assessment
Learners are individually tested whether the preparation for the TBL meeting has actually taken place. This is done with the Individual Readiness Assurance Test (iRAT).
The function of this test is to ensure that students can participate well prepared and that a more or less equal starting level is created within the teams. These test questions are always multiple choice questions with one good answer.
Team test
Subsequently, the same test is made in the team, the so-called Team Readiness Assurance Test (tRAT), in which the team members must reach consensus on the answers to the test questions. This test can be taken by means of a scratch card on which teams can indicate the correct answer (see figure 1).
The scratch card immediately shows how many attempts the team needs to come to the correct answer. The more boxes are scratched open, the less points the team can earn. By including both tests in the final grade of the study component, teams are held responsible for both their individual preparation and team performance.
Figure 1. Scratch card as used for the tRAT
In digital format, iRAT and tRAT can be designed and administered using TestVision.
Application sessions
After the test, learners will actually apply the knowledge they have gained from the preparatory study material. Most of the time within a TBL module is therefore spent on sessions with application assignments.
Application assignments can take the form of a multiple-choice question in which four or more plausible answers are given to provoke discussion. Consensus must be reached in the team about the choice made. But also open questions, 'drag questions', complex problems, legal/ethical dilemmas or complex case studies are suitable assignments with which knowledge is applied.
They are always complex issues that you cannot solve as an individual and for which there is no right/fault answer.
TBL is not about finding the right answer but about being able to argue why the team opts for that solution, working method or approach.
The discussions in the TBL application sessions give learners the opportunity to articulate and explore their own train of thought, explore different perspectives and alternatives and ultimately, as a team, arrive at the best possible solution which is shared with others.
Peer feedback
Throughout the process of working in teams, learners receive quantitative and qualitative feedback from their teammates:
the degree of preparation;
participation in the group process;
their functioning in the learning team.
It is also monitored whether students are able to adjust their study and professional behaviour over time based on qualitative feedback received from their teammates. This requires the ability to give and receive constructive feedback.
The quantitative feedback can count towards the final grade while the qualitative feedback can be a good indicator for the social and/or professional development of students. By including the quantitative grade in the peer feedback, 'hitchhiking' of less motivated students in the team is prevented.
Conclusion
In traditional group assignments, extensive tasks are split up, distributed among themselves, and carried out as individuals, later stuck together and handed in as 'group products'. The group assignment is therefore actually an individual assignment. At TBL, students do prepare themselves by studying the teaching material individually (they are responsible for this themselves).
But then they learn as a team to apply concepts and concepts by solving relevant, authentic case studies and other assignments. Through the discussions and mutual interaction during the team sessions, the team members learn to articulate and explore their train of thought, explore different perspectives and ultimately arrive at a socially verified version of the 'truth' or solution.
It turns out that this form of work leads to a higher mastery of the subject matter (in addition to remembering and reproducing, also applying, analysing, evaluating and creating - think of Bloom's taxonomy).
Resources
Download this information pack about Team Based Learning from Bradford University.
Literature
Hrynchak, P., Batty, H. (2012). The educational theory of team-based learning. Medical Teacher, 34, 796-801.
Merrill M.D. (2012). First principles of instruction. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons.
Michaelson, L.K., Knight, A.B. & Fink, L.D. (2002). Team-Based Learning: a Transformative Use of Small Groups in College Teaching. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing. Michaelsen, L.K. & Watson, W.E. (1989). A Realistic Test of Individual Versus Group Consensus Decision Making. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74: (5) 834-839.
Van der Vleuten & Driessen (2014) What would happen to education if we take education evidence seriously? Perspectives of medical education, 3(3): 222-232.