Enhancing academic engagement through online team-based learning: a longitudinal study in nursing education

The rapid advancement of technology and expansion of online learning environments require innovative educational methods tailored to digital contexts. Team-based learning (TBL) has shown promise in promoting engagement and collaborative problem solving; however, its long-term effectiveness in relation to online platforms, especially in emergency nursing education, remains underexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of online TBL on academic self-efficacy, learning immersion, and learning interest among nursing students.

A total of 91 nursing students were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n = 46), which participated in TBL via an online collaboration platform, or a control group (n = 45), which used traditional paper-based TBL. Data were collected at three time points-baseline (pre-test), four weeks, and eight weeks post-intervention-using validated structured questionnaires. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze changes over time.

No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups at baseline and after four weeks. However, at eight weeks, the experimental group showed significantly higher scores for academic self-efficacy (t = 2.09, p = 0.039), learning immersion (t = 2.30, p = 0.024), and learning interest (t = 2.85, p = 0.006) than the control group. These findings indicate that the benefits of digital TBL emerge over time.

Online TBL effectively enhances the academic self-efficacy, engagement, and motivation of nursing students. The use of digital platforms enables real-time collaboration regardless of geographic location. Future strategies should incorporate peer interaction and scaffolded tasks to promote active learning in healthcare education.