Development and psychometric testing of an instrument for team-based learning assessment

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Pedagogy
• Health Professions Education

Background:

• Team-based learning (TBL) is widely used in medical curricula, requiring student evaluation for optimization.
• Student feedback is crucial for refining TBL implementation and enhancing the learning experience.
• Developing a dedicated assessment tool for TBL is essential for medical universities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a questionnaire for evaluating the team-based learning (TBL) method from medical students' perspectives.
• To assess student satisfaction and the perceived effectiveness of TBL in a medical basic sciences curriculum.
• To create a psychometrically sound instrument for TBL program evaluation.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-method study involving 168 medical students, combining qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys.
• Content analysis of semi-structured interviews informed the questionnaire design.
• Psychometric properties including validity and reliability were rigorously assessed using established statistical methods.

Main Results:

• A 25-item questionnaire with high reliability (0.87) and internal consistency (α = 0.93) was developed.
• Exploratory factor analysis identified five key components: learning enhancement, satisfaction, technical aspects, teacher capabilities, and appropriate testing.
• These five components explained 64.68% of the total variance, indicating a robust construct.

Conclusions:

• The developed questionnaire serves as a valuable tool for evaluating the effectiveness of TBL in medical education.
• Assessing student experiences alongside academic outcomes is vital for successful instructional strategies.
• This instrument can guide the refinement of TBL implementation in medical curricula.