Team-Based Learning

Alyssa Selinger, PharmD

PGY-1 Pharmacy Resident

Suburban Hospital- Johns Hopkins Medicine

Team-based learning was developed by Dr. Larry Michaelsen in the 1970s. This learning strategy is successful because it supports collaboration and provides opportunities to apply ones skills through structured group activities.1 It is a collaborative teaching strategy designed around units of instruction.2 It is a process which includes the following steps: strategically forming permanent teams, readiness assurance, application activities, and peer evaluation. This strategy puts more emphasis on the implementation and utilization of information, rather than memorizing basic concepts.

In order for this concept to be successful, students will be assigned pre-readings before class and are encouraged to come prepared. Once class begins, the student will be asked to complete an individual readiness assurance test (IRAT), commonly in the form of a short quiz. This will help the student to gauge their understanding of the material. After the IRAT is completed, the student will join their group to take the same test again but with their permanent group. This team readiness assurance test (TRAT) encourages collaboration to reach a consensus of the correct answer. Once completed, the class will go over the test and each individual group will be allowed to write an appeal for any answers they fell were incorrectly deemed to be wrong. At this point, it is important for the professor to intervene and clarify any weaknesses or misunderstandings regarding the material presented.

Now that the student and groups “readiness” has been evaluated, it is time for the team to proceed with an application activity. It is important that these activities adhere to the following guidelines: there is a significant problem, it requires a specific choice, each group has the same problem, and there is a simultaneous report to the class of the groups final assessment and plan. This allows the entire class to understand the differing viewpoints of the class, not only their group.

The last step of the team-based learning process is peer feedback. This allows for fellow students to provide feedback for each participant of the group. This feedback is meant to identify the student’s role in the group and what improvements the group would like each participant to make. I think this can be a great way for students to obtain feedback. It is sometimes easier to take feedback from peers rather than an authoritative figure, such as a professor.

If utilizing team-based learning in a didactic classroom, each activity can be assigned a point value and each step of the process can be evaluated. A student’s final grade or assessment can be split between the IRAT, TRAT, and peer feedback to arrive at a final score.

There are important aspects to consider if a team-based learning strategy is going to be utilized. It is important for the groups to be split based upon knowledge (year in school), academic performance (GPA), and experience. This will allow teams to be as diverse as possible, while also trying to match the teams’ abilities with the other teams of the class. It is important to keep the teams consistent. This allows the students to get comfortable with each other in order to form a cohesive atmosphere for collaboration.

I think one of the most beneficial aspects of team-based learning is that it makes a student accountable for their learning. The team expects each member to come to class prepared and ready to provide input to help the team problem-solve. I think traditional teaching strategies do not encourage non-motivated students to learn and become motivated. Team-based learning strategies require each team member to contribute, and if they do not they will be evaluated poorly during the peer feedback session. Students can gain a feeling of accountability for their knowledge which is very much like the accountability they will be accepting in their careers. I also think team-based learning not only helps students to develop problem solving skills, but it also encouraged students to work together effectively which is essential today in health care.

Please see the following resources for additional information about team-based learning and feel free to watch the video.

1. Fathelrahman, Ahmed. Pharmacy Education In the Twenty First Century and Beyond : Global Achievements and Challenges. First edition. London, England: Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier, 2018.
2. Tblc-Admin. “Overview.” Team-Based Learning Collaborative, 2019, http://www.teambasedlearning.org/definition/.
3. Video: https://vimeo.com/51713733