Three Weeks of Team-Based Leaning Do Not Overload Undergraduate Students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Pedagogy
• Curriculum Development

Background:

• Team-based learning (TBL) is an active learning strategy requiring pre-class preparation.
• Implementing TBL without reducing in-class hours can cause student concerns about academic overload.
• Medical programs often face practical constraints when integrating new teaching methodologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of implementing TBL on student study hours and cognitive load.
• To assess student perceptions of TBL compared to traditional lectures in a medical course.
• To determine if TBL can be effectively integrated without increasing student workload.

Main Methods:

• Three weeks of TBL replaced lectures in a 15-week renal system course for first-year medical students.
• Student study hours, cognitive load, and course perceptions were collected via weekly logs and questionnaires.
• Data were analyzed comparing TBL weeks to lecture weeks, with a grading system change from A-E to pass-fail between study years.

Main Results:

• Students dedicated similar weekly study hours to TBL as to lectures (mean 3.1 h/week).
• TBL resulted in comparable extraneous cognitive load and lower intrinsic cognitive load compared to lectures.
• Students reported reduced stress, maintained motivation, and high self-perceived learning during the TBL implementation.

Conclusions:

• Replacing lectures with TBL for three weeks did not increase student study time or cognitive load.
• TBL can be integrated into existing curricula without negatively impacting student workload or well-being.
• The findings support TBL as an effective and manageable pedagogical approach in medical education.