From Lectures to Team Based Learning

By Ha Phan, PGY-1 Community Pharmacy Resident

Johns Hopkins Home Care Group and Outpatient Pharmacy

The traditional lecture method has been an effective method for communicating theories and ideas to students. Lecturing is disseminating information to large groups of students. After a lecture, students may work in groups and complete discussions on the lecture content. With lecturing going out of style and other learning methods becoming more popular one alternative to the lecture is team based learning.¹

Team Based Learning Defined

Team based learning (TBL) is a strategy that has been used at multiple business schools and in higher learning settings.² During TBL activities a single instructor manages small groups simultaneously in one classroom. This method has gained interest within medical education because it is more likely to increase active learning in the classroom. TBL has been shown to increase student engagement. Thompson et al., studied the implementation of team based learning at ten different medical schools and reviewed factors that affected the use of TBL. The study found that the schools that desire to implement TBL and have the faculty/staff that support this design will continue the implementation efforts. TBL consists of three phases. The first phase is where the student reads and studies the material independently. In the second phase, learners are individually assessed on their basic understanding of the material, then assessed again in groups. Once students have grasped the topics from the first two phases, the instructor will move on to the third phase where students work in teams to apply the knowledge introduced in phases 1 and 2. The groups work on the third phase at the same time and then share their answers to the other groups.²

To relate it back to my own pharmacy school experience, at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMB SOP) team based learning has gained popularity since I first enrolled as a first year student. When I was going through the curriculum team based learning included phase 1, but I believe phase 2 was missing where students were assessed on the material from phase 1. The assessment part was the exam that came after phase 3. Phase 3 at UMB consisted of cases and real world application however cases were not worked on real time and were worked on offline and then brought back to the larger group where answers were discussed in groups and then as a larger group. Now, there are all three phases and phase 2 would include a quiz or some kind of knowledge check following phase 1. This aspect is different from when I went through the curriculum. Team based learning is able to meet different learning needs and styles by including social learning (via group work), behaviorism (grading rewards), and constructivism (working in real time as a group).

Limitations of Team Based Learning

TBL has some limitations as some faculty members do not understand the method, or do not feel that the TBL is effective.² In the Thompson, et al study, students were also resistant to peer evaluation.² To a point I think TBL is effective as I have seen components of it but there is always room for improvement. I believe TBL must be strategically scheduled as it is more work for the student than the traditional lecture based style of teaching. If too many TBL sessions are scheduled there may be fatigue and the student may not be putting forth the expected effort that it takes to upkeep TBL.  Would TBL be the only way classes are taught or is traditional lecturing still an effective way of teaching? I think there is always a need for lecturing because I think for some educators it is a better use of time when there is a large class.

As student satisfaction and participation is a limiting factor of TBL, a study done by Frame et al., looked at student perceptions of TBL. They found that TBL should be incorporated early into the curriculum before traditional lecture-based formats so that students may realize the benefits and build team work skills early on.³ I wonder if the outcome of TBL if rewards such as grades were not a part of the process – would it be as effective? I am proud to be a product of TBL, and I hope to grow my skills in facilitating these sessions as a future educator.

1. Redish EF.Teaching the Lecture Method. University of Pittsburgh. 2014. 124 p.
2. Thompson BM, Schneider VA, Haidet P, Levine RE et al,. Team-based learning at ten medical schools: two years later. Medical Education. 2007; 41: 250-257.
3. Frame TR, Cailor SM, Gryka RJ, Chen AM et al,. Student Perceptions of Team-based learning vs Traditional lecture-based learning. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.2015; 79 (4):1-11.