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Team-Based Learning (TBL): Theory, Planning, Practice, and Implementation

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Clinical Education for the Health Professions

Abstract

Team-based learning (TBL) is an effective and resource-wise pedagogical tool with the potential to integrate into a broad range of health educational environments and align student learning outcomes with the knowledge and skills needed by graduates in the workforce. Designed to enhance the quality of student learning, TBL offers a unique approach to small group teaching, providing a resource-efficient strategy to transform small groups into teams. The TBL design provides an effective approach to teach a large number of students in an engaging manner that fosters active small and large group discussion, real-time decision-making, and provision of immediate feedback. Going beyond the simple transfer of knowledge content, TBL focuses on the application of knowledge through conceptual and authentic problem-solving activities. The TBL format offers a feedback-rich learning environment, with opportunities for students to develop critical competencies relevant to healthcare education: teamwork abilities and critical thinking skills.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide readers with an overview of TBL, including the theory and rationale for the use of TBL; the current trends and evidence for TBL in healthcare education; a comparison of TBL with other learning approaches; practical tips for design, implementation, and facilitation of TBL as an instructional strategy within medicine and health education; and emerging trends in the design and application of TBL.

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Abbreviations

IRAT:

Individual readiness assurance test

SMP:

Sydney Medical Program

TBL:

Team-based learning

TRAT:

Team readiness assurance test

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney Medical School, Education Office, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Annette Burgess & Elie Matar

  2. Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney Health Professional Education Research Network, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Annette Burgess

  3. Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney Medical School, Central Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Elie Matar

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  1. Annette Burgess
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  2. Elie Matar
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Correspondence to Annette Burgess .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Debra Nestel

  2. King's College London, London, UK

    Gabriel Reedy

  3. School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia

    Lisa McKenna

  4. Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Manchester, UK

    Suzanne Gough

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Burgess, A., Matar, E. (2020). Team-Based Learning (TBL): Theory, Planning, Practice, and Implementation. In: Nestel, D., Reedy, G., McKenna, L., Gough, S. (eds) Clinical Education for the Health Professions. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6106-7_128-1

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