Team-based learning: a practical guide: Guide Supplement 65.1--viewpoint 1

The practical aspects and potential benefits of team-based learning (TBL) are outlined on the recent guide published by Parmelee et al. (2012). TBL provides a strategy for active student-centred collaborative learning which involves multiple small groups in a single classroom setting, incorporating many of the adult approaches to learning, more frequently seen in problem-based learning (PBL). A single teacher who is a content-expert, who need not have any experience in the group processes to deliver a successful session, instructs the student groups. Unlike PBL and traditional small group learning, TBL provides opportunities to hold each student accountable for their own performance and their individual contributions to the team (Parmelee et al. 2012). A limited search of 'PubMed' revealed that TBL is being used and evaluated internationally as an educational strategy, with virtually no published papers on TBL from the UK. This may suggest either little current interest on the use of TBL by UK medical educators or that the UK is currently not contributing a great deal to the literature on TBL. There may be a need to research the effectiveness and outcomes of TBL in a UK context of medical education.