A Small-Group Stratified-Learner Modification of Team-Based Learning (SGSL-TBL) for Resident Education

Providing learner-specific didactic instruction to a small group of residents can be a challenge in postdoctoral education programs. To date, no data has been published reporting Team-Based Learning (TBL) outcomes when modified for a small group of resident learners, nor on stratifying information presented to learners based on postgraduate year (PGY). Stratification of the advance assignment appears effective as each individual resident outperformed their peers on information assigned to their training level. The group performed significantly better on questions pertaining to their assigned reading than on questions from reading assigned to other residents (p = 0.02), due to the significant difference in PGY1 performance (p = 0.01). Overall performance is similar to traditional TBL, shown by a significantly better group Team Readiness Assurance Test (TRAT) score over Individual Readiness Assurance Test (IRAT) scores (p = 0.01). The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) require evaluation of residents relative to their training level and to their peers. This Small-Group Stratified-Learner TBL (SGSL-TBL) may offer useful resident evaluation tools, providing quantitative data not previously available to small-group resident-training programs through application of TBL.