Team-Based Learning: Perspectives from Multi- disciplinary Faculty

By Denise Cummings-Clay, Rayola Chelladurai, Linda Miles, Ronette Shaw, Elisabeth Tappeiner, and Joseph Caravalho

Have you considered using Team-based Learning (TBL) as part of your instructional methodology? Perhaps, reading about the methodology and the experiences of your colleagues who are using TBL will help you decide. The purpose of this article is to share the experiences of Hostos faculty using TBL from diverse disciplines in an attempt to promote student-centered learning and to spotlight a methodology that faculty can employ to encourage active learning of students in courses.

The first part of the article will describe features of TBL, its purpose, and its benefits. Attention will be given to TBL usage during the Pandemic and the promotion of TBL in face-to-face settings and the online modality. The second part of the article will share the experiences of faculty at Hostos/City University of New York who use the TBL methodology.

TBL is “a special form of small group learning using a specific sequence of individual work, group work, and immediate feedback to create a motivational framework in which students increasingly hold each other accountable for coming to class prepared and contributing to discussion” (Sibley & Ostafichuk, 2014,

p. 6). Course content is separated into units that provide precise, foundational academic material in the TBL methodology (Parrish et al., 2021). For example, students prepare for classes and may review material post-lecture. Most often, the experience is positive. Students help each other and if there is a group that does not start positively, they learn to compromise, which simulates life in the workforce.

The first question that might arise is, “Why use TBL?” The definition of TBL points to the answer. “TBL is a collaborative active learning approach,” (Nawabi et al., 2021, p. 1081). “Active-learning approaches prioritize student interaction and engagement to create multidirectional flows of information” (Huggins & Stamatel, 2015, p. 228). TBL uses this perspective to foster learning through frequent collaborations (Huggins & Stamatel, 2015). TBL usage as a learning process

can help students develop skills in critical thinking, effective communication, collaborative teamwork, and problem-solving (Nawabi et al., 2021). The general features of TBL that depict active learning include involving students in more than just listening, promoting skill development through exploration of academic content, engaging students in activities, and focusing student attitudes and values.

A glance at the business world can be applied to the education world. In an internal

study to ascertain how to form the perfect team in 2016, Google found that successful teams share five characteristics as follows (Doubet, 2022, p. 27):

1. Psychological safety – Team members feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable.
2. Dependability – Team members get things done on time and meet a high bar

for excellence.

1. Structure and clarity – Team members have clear roles, plans, and goals.
2. Meaning – Team members find the work they are doing personally

meaningful.

1. Impact – Team members think the work they are doing matters and creates

change.

TBL can provide faculty and students with a context to which students can learn through connections with priorknowledge (Doubet, 2022). “Group-worthy tasks capture the attention of students and keep them focused and productive. They set the stage so that there is reason to take risks, room for diverse and meaningful group roles, and purpose for reflection and evaluation” (Doubet, 2022, p. 30).

With respect to the health profession, TBL design provides the forum to preparing learners as they transition into the dynamic health profession with confidence (Moore, 2015). TBL has been identified as an innovative teaching strategy designed to provide a forum for students to engage in collaborative, group based interactive learning to promote problem solving, enhance critical thinking and prompt team engagement (Zingone, 2010). TBL addresses the increasingly diverse student population in acknowledging the value of each individual as an essential member interacting through peer-to-peer engagement. Recognizing students as lifelong learners, the nursing academic community embraces the TBL model to offer students a proven approach to instruction that may translate into all settings to support student-faculty interaction (Whittaker, 2015).

TBL and the Effect of the Pandemic

When learning shifted to the online modality during the Pandemic, 65 percent of teachers revealed that they decreased the amount of group work for which they previously had engaged with their students, according to a national survey (Schwartz, 2021). The teaching and learning context, at best, was considered unsettling. What we know now is that adapting TBL to the online modality may

result in the same learning opportunities for students associated with TBL in face-

to-face settings (Parrish et al., 2021).

TBL improved both student performance and retention when TBL effectiveness was examined within an asynchronous course (Palsole & Awalt, 2008). Moreover, adapting TBL in a synchronous course in the virtual classroom – similar to TBL

in the face-to-face context with student and faculty interacting simultaneously, has been found to create a sense of connectedness between learner and instructor (Peterson et al., 2018). It was found that in the synchronous modality, students who engaged in thinking analytically shared more ideas, encouraged their group, expressed confidence in their group contributions, and were more likely to take academic risks (Peterson et al., 2018). The instructor provision of a checklist for

each unit including the assignment due dates was important to students, which they noted helped them to organize their time and prepare to meet deadlines (Bolliger and Martin, 2018). Instructors’ prompt constructive feedback was designated as critical in the online modality (Bolliger & Martin, 2018).

The Integrated Online-Team-Based Learning Model

Although TBL is used effectively in face-to-face settings, there is a model designed to help faculty usage of TBL online entitled, the “Integrated Online-Team-Based Learning Model” (IO-TBL) (Parrish et al., 22). Its goal is to apply TBL online “by leveraging the benefits of both asynchronous and synchronous instruction, while in- turn, mitigating the challenges associated with each” (Parrish et al., 2021, p. 475).

Initially, students retrieve their materials and objectives of their unit through the learning management system (Parrish et al., 2021). The professor provides questions that align with the unit materials (Parrish et al., 2021). Moreover, the

professor gives a focused lecture to clarify the unit materials. The teams then are given about a week to ask any personal questions or requests for more information via a survey online (Parrish et al., 2021). As in a course that meets face-to-face, the balance of the synchronous session engages the teams in Application Activities. In this process, the teams meet in virtual breakout rooms to collaborate and answer the professor-provided questions (Parrish et al., 2021). “Once all teams return from their breakout rooms, answers are simultaneously reported, andthe instructor facilitates cross-team discussions,” (Parrish et al., 2021, p. 476). Application Activities are designed in two ways. In the first design, each student completes

the Application Activity twice – first independently, and then a second time as a team (Parrish et al., 2021). The second design calls for teams to craft a product or do something that results in a learning outcome (Parrish et al., 2021). When teams meet outside of class, they usually work on more than one Application Activity (Parrish et al., 2021).

TBL Usage at Hostos

With respect to TBL at Hostos, usage is viewed as advantageous to faculty as it is evidence-based andragogy (art of teaching adult learners) that improves attendance, increases pre-class preparation, fosters better academic performance, and develops interpersonal and team skills. For faculty operating a flipped classroom, TBL supports learning in small groups of 4-7. Students who participate in a flipped classroom are more willing to participate in class and to work together to gain a

deeper understanding of the material, according to research. Distinct options have been used to make activities work through teams including:

1. Same Problem – Teams work on the same problem, case, or question.
2. Significant Problem – Teams work on a problem, case, or question demonstrating a concept’s usefulness.
3. Specific Choice – Teams use course concepts to make a specific choice.
4. Simultaneous Report – Teams report their choices simultaneously showing the

visibility of student thinking.

Sharing insight about her experience using TBL methodology, Dr. Cummings- Clay (Education Department) revealed that she assigns teams and the specific content for each team to review. Typically, the academic content to be reviewed is from the modules of the course Open Educational Resources (OER). After each team reviews and/or analyzes educational content, each team reports its findings to the entire class. Finally, the class discusses the overall topic/theme to identify knowledge gaps and/or to answer questions coming out of the discussion. With respect to each team, Dr. Cummings-Clay defers to each team to choose the roles of its members. Team roles can include the following:

• Leader – Navigates the work of the group.
• Recorder – Writes down the information that the group discovers for reporting.
• Presenter/Reporter – Presents to the class on behalf of the group.
• Researcher – Researches the topic from educational materials.

Dr. Cummings-Clay has used TBL in the face-to-face classroom and in the online synchronous modality. “I have found TBL to be engaging for students in both modalities,” she says. She has found it useful to ask students to change their roles periodically so that each team member gains the opportunity to gain experience in multiple roles.

Students have engaged in the TBL activities in Dr. Cummings-Clay’s class sessions. During their deliberations in class in formed groups in the classroom or in the breakout rooms online, she circulates among the teams to listen to how they share information and engage in dialogue about the academic content. “During my time with each team, the other teams can request me to join them to answer any questions they might have or for me to interpret the academic content for them in a more succinct manner,” Dr. Cummings-Clay says.

In other instances, the individual teams meet outside of the scheduled class time to prepare their team presentations to the class. “Problems have surfaced when team members failed to participate or carry their weight on the team, which has frustrated the remaining team members,” Dr. Cummings-Clay reveals. “However,

these members usually have informed me privately that they learned how to be patient through the experience and that the team

developed strategies to encourage participation of their team members.”

Dr. Linda Miles and Professor Lisa Tappeiner (Library) utilize TBL in their information literacy capstone course. Students work in teams during most class periods. During the three-week introductory module for the course, teams are constituted randomly, and students become accustomed to working in teams. They also have an opportunity to get to know other students in the class very well. By week four, teams are assigned based on students’ interest in a specific Capstone Project topic. This final project is scaffolded across the following nine weeks of teamwork activities, supplemented by individual exercises along the way. In early iterations of the course, Miles and Tappeiner invited students to designate which Capstone Project topic interested them, but this led to uneven teams and caused instances of perceived unequal workload. More recently, students were asked to designate their first three choices. The two professors then engaged in matchmaking based on the results. This helps them to make sure that teams are evenly constituted.

The coordination of teamwork in Professors Miles’s and Tappeiner’s course are determined by course modality, as they began teaching this course online during the height of the COVID-19 emergency. Because of the team-based design of the course, this online course is run synchronously. Teamwork worksheets are mounted in Google drive. In their breakout rooms during class, team members discuss the questions. All team members are able to edit the document simultaneously, and instructors view their progress on these documents, live during the session. They are able to drop into the breakout rooms to address apparent misunderstandings and encourage active participation in the deliberations. One of the team members is responsible for downloading the worksheet and submitting it through Blackboard by the deadline later that evening.

Each teamwork activity is a low-stakes, for-credit assignment worth one point. Professors Miles and Tappeiner use these as an opportunity for formative assessment. If students’ responses evidence apparent misunderstandings about course content, they receive a half-point credit, copious comments from the instructors, and an opportunity to revise and resubmit for full credit. This also helps Miles and Tappeiner design the teamwork “debrief” discussions that take place during the following class session, where they are able to directly address course content that students find most confusing. Near the end of the semester, teams are responsible for compiling and presenting their Capstone Project. Although everyone on a team receives the same grade for teamwork activities—including this higher- stakes assignment, students are asked to initial sections of the daily teamwork worksheets and of the final project where they contributed in a significant way. This represents an effort to strike a balance between cultivating an ethos of teamwork

and ensuring that individuals are held accountable and recognized for their

contributions.

Professors Miles and Tappeiner drop in on teams in their Zoom breakout rooms as they are working, and students can “call” the instructors for help from within the room if they have questions, but Miles and Tappeiner are not always around when interactions go sour for the team. Resentments can build up if these interactions go wrong; this can be counterproductive, to say the least. If things have escalated, it can be difficult for a team to recover and move forward in a functional way.

When this situation occurred during a recent semester, Professors Miles and Tappeiner assigned an individual reflective exercise for all students, concerning what team members’ behavior was like when things were going well, and this fueled a discussion during class. In future semesters, they plan to institute a teamwork exercise early in the semester that directly addresses team dynamics and individual behavior—presenting specific scenarios and asking team members about strategies for moving forward from those situations. This will at least bring the topic, as an issue, into class discussions, something that was not covered during previous semesters.

Professor Chelladurai (Allied Health) utilizes TBL in various courses; however, TBL has been developed and revised most in her Quality Assurance Course.

This course is centered on testing radiographic equipment in the radiographic lab and determining if the equipment is working in the way it is intended to work.

In addition, students learn various tests that they can utilize to check the x-ray equipment in the lab and how to assess equipment in actual clinical settings when they join the workforce.

Professor Chelladurai utilizes TBL when she has students work together in the lab in groups/teams. The students must prepare for the lab by looking over the material they are provided on Blackboard. A student ready for the lab will know what tests they are performing and why they are performing the test. The student should also understand what accessory equipment will be needed to complete the test, and the student must know the acceptable limits for each test to determine if their test on the equipment has passed or failed. Once the lab test is completed, the group is required to work together as a team and comprise a cohesive lab report that will be submitted before the next lab. Professor Chelladurai does not

grade the lab report. However, the information will either pass or fail. If the words fail to meet Professor Chelladurais’ expectations, the team will work together to revise the report and resubmit it.

Feedback from students about TBL has been mostly positive; however, there are common complaints that the student would prefer to work alone and would not like to rely on others to complete a task. At this point, the student is reminded

that in real-life scenarios, especially working in health care, they will have to work in a team, so learning to do so in the classroom will be beneficial to them. Another often-heard complaint is that the student does not believe that everyone in their team contributes to the lab and often submits subpar material. To help alleviate this issue has created a contract that states which student will be responsible specifically for which aspect of the lab report. Students are required to sign off on the contract prior to starting to work on the lab report. Also, to be fair, students rotate their role for each lab report. The contract also states a deadline for submitting work to the team leader. The team leader in the past had stated that they often received dribs and drabs of material at the last moment. This contract stated the lead student

has to receive the contribution from team members by a specific deadline, so that the team leader will have enough time to look over the report and submit it as

a cohesive report, the grammar and formatting should look like there was only one author. The contract is submitted along with the report to the instructor. The contract has proven to be a helpful tool in TBL.

When beginning TBL, the instructor has to determine how they wish to create their groups. Professor Chelladurai decided to let the students’ clinical assignment dictate the assignment of the TBL group members. Students at the same clinical setting stay in the same group for the TBL lab. The rationale is that students could still discuss the material from Quality Assurance during their down time at their assigned clinical rotation.

Quality Assurance: Lab Reports Contract

Dr. Shaw indicated that within the demands of today’s healthcare system, professional reliability has direct impact on patient safety. Nursing programs receiving state accreditation are authorized to prepare students through the rigors of both clinical and theoretical instruction based on evidence-based research

that permits students to pursue licensure and successfully enter into professional practice, according to Dr. Shaw.

“Nurses in the field today are faced with an increasing patient population in addition to various chronic diseases, pandemics and mental health concerns demonstrate and increasing need for educators to properly socialize students for professional practices,” Dr. Shaw says. “Nurses are expected to provide direct patient care within the established scope and practice standards while considering the quality through critical thinking and skills to plan and apply safe patient care when providing clinical decisions. Nurses are expected to work alongside other disciplines, within an interdisciplinary team to provide comprehensive medical care. Effective engagement to support safe patient care and positive healthcare outcomes can be achieved through teamwork.”

Dimitriadou, Pizirtzidou and Lavdaniti (2013), discussed the importance of socialization in the field of nursing reflected through internalizing the experience therefore influencing the care provided. Teamwork in nursing has been a part of the culture of the profession. “We begin team projects in the nursing program upon entry through promoting activities such as group presentations, study groups and clinical groups,” Dr. Shaw says. “Many teams are designed through the instruction of faculty and students have been noted to form teams independently for the purpose of academic engagement.”

TBL applied in the LPN certificate program at Hostos Community College includes constructing teams for learning activities such as clinical groups, simulation, and group assignments. An example of the application of TBL applied in the simulation setting has been done to prepare students for in-person clinical experience through practice sessions in the simulation environment. Within the simulation setting, students have the opportunity to practice skills and receive feedback from both their peers and nursing faculty. The size of the groups for each team may range from two to three or four to six students depending on the assignment in the simulation laboratory and to decrease distraction while improving management of student assignments for the faculty. Faculty prepare students for each assignment prior to the scheduled simulation activities and provide assigned readings of each topic, including literature to review, videos and pre-simulation roles for each

team participant. Faculty may designate one student as the lead for the team who assumes the responsibility of collecting completed assignments. Each team member will have the opportunity to demonstrate the skill with faculty present to facilitate learning and participate in a post-stimulation briefing. Team members play an essential role to providing members with support, engage in constructive dialogue

and prompt critical thinking while working together to complete the assignment.

Faculty provide feedback on group progress, which is done informally with indications for any improvement if needed. The students have reported having a positive experience within the group settings, learning from their peers, gaining a wider perspective on topics based on the group interactions and building a sense of collegiality that can be transferred into the clinical site. Trouble shooting within the dynamics of a team is also important for the students to learn as they progress

through the program into professional practice and learn how to navigate difficulties they may face as a member of the team or how to address conflict in a diplomatic way. The student has faculty present to facilitate a productive learning environment and along with team evaluations, students are individually assessed on skills at the end of the semester for proficiency as a course requirement prior to advancing to the next course.

Turning from the health profession to the Arts, Professor Joseph Caravalho utilizes TBL in his Digital Music courses to give students an opportunity to strengthen their Program Learning Outcomes and soft skills. He also recommends TBL because

it best reflects how the music industry works. Students must collaborate together to produce something they are all equally proud of by voicing their opinions and compromising on creative decisions. At the end of the process, the final product must speak for itself. Students are given class time to work but most assignments

will require the teams to organize a session at the studio on campus outside of class. Professor Caravalho says, “The students are having fun with a TBL approach to these assignments and learning how to become better creative collaborators through the process.”

Faculty are urged to consider TBL usage. It is deemed to be an effective framework for which to promote active learning and collaborative learning in higher education, especially in face-to-face settings (Parrish et al., 2021). Moreover, a model (i.e.,

IO-TBL) can provide an algorithm to help faculty who wish to adapt TBL to the online asynchronous and synchronous modalities. Remember, the goal is the promotion of active learning for students.

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