Conducting Team‐based Learning Simultaneously Across Multiple Venues: Challenges and Impact on Student Satisfaction
Authors: Korndorffer Melanie L. , Frasch Tripp 
Published: June 2021

Objective

Early studies have demonstrated that conducting Team‐based Learning (TBL) modules in a technology‐enhanced environment can be conducive to active learning. Precise details regarding the advantages of these spaces are limited. We hypothesized that students would value the environment of Tulane University's Center for Active Learning due to the technological advantages, increased level of access to subject matter experts, and ease of group interaction.

Methods

The Gross Anatomy course at Tulane University School of Medicine is a regions‐based course encompassing lecture, cadaveric dissection, and TBL sessions across 11 weeks at the beginning of the first year of Medical School. In the 2017–2018 academic year, six TBL modules were implemented to teach radiological anatomy. Four of the TBLs took place in cadaver labs (CL) each accommodating 26–32 students, and two of the TBLS took place in the Center for Active Learning (CAL), which can accommodate the entire cohort of 175 first‐year medical students. All students participated in the TBLs in groups of 6. In the DL, 14 teaching assistants facilitated the TBL modules. In the CAL, the course director facilitated the TBLs and a radiologist provided any instruction needed to complete the exercises. All TBL modules were conducted following the core principles of the TBL pedagogy described by Michaelson and Sweet which include pre‐work and individual and group readiness testing. Group‐ and facilitator‐led discussions followed the quizzes to identify gaps in preparation. Team application exercises to reinforce the learned material followed. In the DL, the students used individual laptop computers to access the group quizzes and application exercises. In the CAL, these were deployed on multiple wall‐mounted 65” flat‐screen monitors, easily viewable to all in the room. Four times during the course students were queried regarding their perceptions of the TBLs using a 5‐point Likert scale and standardized open‐ended questions. Answers to the questions underwent qualitative analysis and were coded based on common themes.

Results

Total number of subjects was 175. The data collected from the Likert responses revealed that 77.1% believed the TBL sessions were effective in helping them learn and understand the radiographic material regardless of the location. Key themes that emerged from the open‐ended questions included: difficulty with accessing the documents on personal laptops within the DL; preferences for either the teaching assistants or the course director and radiologist for facilitation of the learning process, and preferences for a collaborative learning space.

Conclusion

Conducting the TBL modules within the CAL increased student's ease of access to the quiz contents and the application exercises. Students prefer the CAL over the labs to increase student participation and discussionby the course director. More studies are needed to further explore the preferences to optimize learning through the TBL modules.

This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.