Introduction to TBL Workshop

Led by Boonshoft School of Medicine Faculty:  Smita Krishnamurthy, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pathology & Dermatology and Kennon Miller, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pathology & Internal Medicine.

What Is Team-Based Learning?

Team-Based Learning™ (TBL) is an evidence-based active learning instructional strategy that provides students with opportunities to apply conceptual knowledge through a sequence of events that includes individual work, teamwork, and immediate feedback. It is learner-centered and engages students with the kinds of problems they will encounter in the real world. It also promotes the development of professional competencies in interpersonal skills, teamwork, and peer feedback. TBL has been successfully implemented at the Boonshoft School of Medicine for over 15 years, and has been adopted globally to deepen student engagement and understanding in various fields ranging from the humanities to basic sciences.

Description

This 2-hour workshop is conducted in a TBL format: participants are given an assignment about the basics of TBL to read before the workshop, are assigned to a team, are given an individual and team readiness assurance test with immediate feedback, and achieve consensus with their team on a set of increasingly challenging application-based questions. There is very little “lecture” (learning occurs through doing) and ample opportunity for questions and dialogue.

Objectives

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Describe the essential principles and components of a TBL module.
• Explain how TBL, when done correctly, generates deeper learning of content, improves communication skills, and enhances student engagement more than a lecture-based approach.
• Identify solutions to the challenges that an instructor faces when transforming a unit of study from lecture to TBL.
• Outline steps for designing a TBL module relevant to their field.