Effect of Team-based Learning on Second Year Students' Academic Performance

To determine if there was any significant difference in scores of students who acquired knowledge through team-based learning (TBL) versus those who learned through small group discussion (SGD).

Quasi-experimental cross-over study.

Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, from March to December 2015.

All students of second year MBBS were assigned to either TBL or SGD, based on non-probability sampling, for 8 themes in a five-week module. The groups were flipped after 4 themes. TBL format recommended by the AMEE guide No: 65 was followed. The impact of both learning methods was assessed by comparing end-of-module written examination scores of the two groups through independent sample t-test. SPSS version 23 was used for data analysis. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

End-of-module written examination scores showed there was no significant difference in student academic performance when they studied with TBL or SGD in themes 1-4 (TBL 61.90 ±13.01 versus SGD 59.65 ±11.56, p=0.41). However, for themes 5-8 there was a significant difference in scores (TBL 65.36 ±11.62 versus SGD 59.92 ±10.65, p=0.03) A trend towards higher scores was observed in content learned with TBL in all eight themes.

TBL is equally effective as an instructional method as SGD. However, it could not be established that it results in significant improvement in learning.