Does team-based learning improve performance in an infectious diseases course in a preclinical curriculum?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Infectious Diseases
• Pedagogical Interventions

Background:

• Traditional didactic lectures and laboratory exercises may not fully optimize student mastery of complex preclinical infectious diseases content.
• Assessing student understanding and identifying knowledge gaps early is crucial for academic success in medical courses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of implementing Team-based Learning (TBL) on student performance in a preclinical infectious diseases course.
• To determine if TBL enhances student learning, leading to improved examination scores and reduced failure rates.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study was conducted involving students in years 2 and 3 of a medical course.
• Weekly Team-based Learning (TBL) exercises were introduced to supplement existing didactic lectures and laboratory sessions.
• Student performance on final examinations and specific questions was analyzed before and after TBL implementation.

Main Results:

• Introduction of TBL led to a statistically significant increase in correct answer percentages on common final examination questions between year 1 and years 2/3.
• No significant difference in performance was observed between years 2 and 3, suggesting sustained benefit.
• A notable decrease in final examination failures was observed in years 2 and 3 compared to year 1.

Conclusions:

• Team-based Learning (TBL) is an effective pedagogical strategy for enhancing content mastery and retention in preclinical infectious diseases education.
• Regular TBL exercises empower students to proactively identify and rectify misunderstandings, facilitating early academic adjustments.