Implementation of Team-Based Learning in the Pre-Clerkship Medical Curriculum: Investigating Essential Elements

Date of Award

4-1-2023

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Science Education

First Advisor

Charles Henderson, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Maria Sheakley, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Adam Channell, Ph.D.

Keywords

Medical education, team-based learning

Abstract

Team-based learning (TBL) has been used in undergraduate medical education over the past 20 years. Available evidence suggests that there is a problem with how the core design elements are implemented. It is also unclear the extent to which faculty and students believe TBL supports the goals of undergraduate medical education (UME). The purpose of this research is to identify the essential elements of TBL, how those elements have been used by medical educators over the past 10 years, and identify if faculty and student believe TBL supports the goals of undergraduate medical education at a single medical school where all of the essential elements are used in the curriculum.

In order to address these problems, this study was conducted in three phases. The first phase reviewed the published literature of TBL over the past 20 years to identify the essential elements of TBL, and identify how those elements were being implemented by medical educators over the past 10 years. This phase concluded with the creation of an innovation configuration table containing the essential elements of TBL and best practices for implementing them. The second phase of the study involved interviewing TBL trainerconsultants to receive feedback on the innovation configuration table and identify which of the elements were most difficult for instructors to implement in the pre-clerkship medical curriculum. This phase of the study was able to expand on the innovation configuration table and identified peer review and the application exercise as the most difficult elements of TBL to implement for medical educators. The third phase of the study surveyed biomedical sciences faculty and medical students to identify their beliefs about the extent to which TBL supports the goals of medical education. Results suggest that faculty and medical students are largely aligned with TBL supporting the goals of UME. Small differences were observed with faculty being more likely than students to believe TBL prepares students for their clerkships, and medical students more likely than faculty to believe that TBL is useful for reflecting on their knowledge.

This research builds upon the growth in the use of and research on team-based learning (TBL) over the past 20 years in undergraduate medical education. An innovation configuration table was created to identify the essential elements, the components of each element, and the recommended use of each that medical educators can use when implementing TBL. This study was also able to identify peer review and the application exercise as the two most difficult components of TBL to implement. The lack of time and resources for these two components were identified as barriers to successful implementation. Medical schools need to provide faculty with the professional development funds to attend workshops on the peer review process and application exercise. Faculty should also be provided with dedicated time to work on application exercises.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Abstract Only

Restricted to Campus until

4-1-2025

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