Multistation exercises: a combination of problem-based learning and team-based learning instructional design for...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Pedagogy

Background:

• Large group active learning sessions require innovative strategies to maintain engagement and effectiveness.
• Traditional lecture formats often fall short in fostering deep understanding for large student cohorts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate a structured active learning strategy combining problem-based learning (PBL) and team-based learning (TBL) for a large group of 250 medical students.
• To reduce faculty involvement while enhancing student learning outcomes in a large-scale educational setting.

Main Methods:

• A hybrid PBL/TBL approach was employed using a case study on anemia.
• Students (n=250) were divided into facilitated groups, rotating through structured exercises, with smaller subgroups formed at each station.
• Effectiveness was assessed by comparing academic performance with a non-intervention group from the previous year.

Main Results:

• The intervention group demonstrated significantly higher academic performance on related items compared to the non-intervention group.
• Performance improvements were observed in the average and higher academic quartiles.
• The lower academic quartile did not show a significant improvement with this active learning strategy.

Conclusions:

• The combined PBL/TBL structured active learning strategy is effective in improving academic performance for average and high-achieving students in large cohorts.
• Further refinement may be needed to address learning gaps in lower-achieving student groups.
• This model offers a scalable solution for active learning in large medical education classes with reduced faculty dependency.