Team-Based Learning
A core principle of the St George’s Strategic Vision 2030 is to reimagine the St George’s curriculum for inclusive and interactive learning, teaching and assessment, underpinned by tailored academic support and digital technology (E1.1). This is embodied by Team-Based Learning (TBL), a highly structured and evidence-informed pedagogical approach that has gained significant adoption in medicine and healthcare education in recent years.
As a very interactive and collaborative approach to learning, it is well placed to foster strong student engagement and promote active learning and is closely aligned with the principles of the guidance for design of blended learning developed by CIDE (Centre for Innovation and Development in Education) and CTiE (Centre for Technology in Education).
There is strong interest in developing the use of TBL at St George’s across multiple programmes.
The overarching goal of this project is to explore the feasibility of delivering Team-Based Learning within our programmes, and to identify ways in which a digital tool can support this i.e. wholly remote TBL, blended TBL running across multiple rooms. This evaluation will provide evidence to guide institutional decision-making around whether to pursue the use of TBL and the purchase of a digital TBL tool in future academic years.
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TBL can be run with a large number of students concurrently, supported by relatively few teaching staff, yet still be highly interactive and promote active learning in the style of small-group teaching (1). Students are grouped into teams of 5-7, and work through a sequence of activities:
- pre-class preparation,
- individual readiness testing,
- team readiness testing,
- feedback, and
- a collaborative application of clinical problem-solving (2).
The approach has been shown to be both efficient in terms of resourcing, time and scale, and effective in improving pre-class preparation and access to feedback (3).
It has also been acknowledged as providing a means for developing an inclusive learning environment, with evidence indicating that TBL can effect a reduction in existing structural gaps in learning attainment (4).
In Year 1 of the OfS-funded education transformation project there was a budget allocated to purchase a tool to support St George’s plans for the implementation of Team-Based Learning (TBL) in several programmes. After a consultation with key stakeholders from across the institution, with representation from multiple programmes and demonstrations from multiple providers, the decision was taken to procure the LAMS learning design system as the best fit for St George’s needs. A fixed number of licences are available for St George’s to use over a 2-year period.
The LAMS system is cloud-based and externally hosted and provides a range of features which can be used to promote active learning within online and blended teaching. It includes a comprehensive toolset for implementing TBL; integrating with Canvas such that it is transparent to users, it allows teachers to deliver a wide range of interactivities for students, specifically including individual and collaborative testing and peer feedback.
From a tutor perspective, it allows the flow of students through the exercises to be monitored and controlled, and provides a dashboard that allows tutors to see individual/team responses and questions in real time. This opens up the possibility of TBL being delivered either online or across multiple small teaching rooms/baserooms, thus negating infrastructure challenges that might otherwise limit uptake.
Project timeline and plan for Team-Based Learning
| Description | Resources required | Outputs | Period |
|---|
|
P1 - Identification of programmes and stakeholders
Building upon stakeholder engagement during procurement, identify opportunities within programmes for delivery of TBL, including course team staff to design activities in collaboration with CTiE/CIDE
|
Engagement with course teams |
Timetable of planned TBL programmes, with expected number of licence allocations |
August to October 2023 |
|
P2 - Technical implementation
Finalise data governance procedures, test LTI integration with Canvas, complete digital accessibility statement
|
|
Fully tested integration of LAMS within Canvas |
August to October 2023 |
|
P3 - Training
Organise training session with LAMS to include those staff identified in P1.
Produce a set of in-house training resources and/or sessions.
|
Staff identified in P1
Staff availability to run contracted LAMS training session
|
Suite of in-house training resources
Group of academic/course staff well-trained in the system
|
September to October 2023 |
P4 - Implementation Design and Planning
CTiE work with course teams to design LAMS-supported TBL sessions, including digital media content, readiness assessment questions and activity exercises. These are created and inputted into LAMS ready for incorporation in Canvas modules.
Depending upon timetable from P1, this phase may run until near the end of the project and concurrently with P5 and P6. |
Completion of P1, P2 and P3 |
A completed set of TBL-based activities built in LAMS and integrated into Canvas ready for deployment to students.
A set of processes and in-house knowledge to run TBL sessions.
|
September 2023 to July 2024 |
P5 – Implementation
TBL activities timetabled and delivered to students using LAMS and Canvas, supported by course staff and CTiE. |
Completion of P4 phase for each programme using LAMS
Course team staff and support from CTiE to run sessions
|
Delivered teaching sessions that are well-designed for active student learning that is well-integrated with their curriculum |
October 2023 to July 2025 |
|
P6 Evaluation
An ongoing evaluation phase to run concurrently with P5. Outputs to be collected from each implementation to be used to inform and improve design (P4) and delivery (P5) of future TBL implementations.
Evidence from evaluation phase to be used to inform and potentially guide plans to bid for funding to continue with LAMS in subsequent academic years, and to inform the institutions approach to TBL.
|
Completion of P5 phase
Agreement of students and staff to engage with evaluation process
|
Evidence to support institution decision-making on whether to seek a further contract with LAMS or an alternative provider for a digital TBL tool in subsequent academic years. |
January 2024 to July 2025 |
- Parmelee D, Michaelsen LK, Cook S, Hudes PD. Team-based learning: A practical guide: AMEE Guide No. 65. Med Teach. 2012 May;34(5):e275–87.
- Burgess A, van Diggele C, Roberts C, Mellis C. Team-based learning: design, facilitation and participation. BMC Med Educ. 2020 Dec 3;20(Suppl 2):461.
- Burgess A, Bleasel J, Haq I, Roberts C, Garsia R, Robertson T, et al. Team-based learning (TBL) in the medical curriculum: better than PBL? BMC Med Educ. 2017 Dec 8;17(1):243.
- Can we mend the gap? Team Based Learning (TBL): developing diversity into inclusivity. | Advance HE [Internet]. [cited 2023 Aug 21]. Available from: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/news-and-views/can-we-mend-gap-team-based-learning-tbl-developing-diversity-inclusivity.