Incremental Increase in Team Performance Scores with use of IF-AT Cards and Partial Credit

Rebecca Moote, PharmD, S. Dean Allison, PhD, Patrick Sullivan, PhD, Mary Hajner, and Marianne McCollum, PhD.  Regis University, Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions, School of Pharmacy; Denver, Colorado

Background: Team-Based Learning (TBL) emphasizes active learning and team communication skills. Individuals and teams complete a Readiness Assurance Test (iRAT and tRAT). Team scores are typically higher than individual scores, reflecting the value of team-based learning.

Description: Immediate Feedback-Assessment Technique (IF-AT) cards provide feedback to students while permitting multiple selections for each RAT item with partial credit given for second and third attempts. Continued team discussions are thereby encouraged until the correct answer is selected. Partial credit also further inflates tRAT scores compared to iRAT scores where no partial credit is provided. We evaluated differences in scoring IF-AT cards compared to a hypothetical scenario where full credit was given only for right answers on the first try (similar to iRAT scoring). iRAT and tRAT scores were recorded for 53 students (10 teams) in three courses. “tRAT-lite” scores were calculated according to the hypothetical scenario, generating percent correct for first answer only. A paired t-test was used to determine pair-wise differences between mean iRAT, tRAT and tRAT-lite scores.

Evaluation: Mean tRAT-lite scores were significantly higher than iRAT scores for all three courses (9.7%, 13.6%, and 10.2%, all p < 0.01). This increase represents the improvement over individual performance resulting from teamwork. tRAT scores were higher than tRAT-lite scores for all three courses (3.16%, 3.56%, 3.25%, all p < 0.05), representing the incremental increase in scores resulting from use of IF-AT cards with partial credit.

Conclusion: The increase in tRAT-lite scores versus iRAT scores represents the isolated impact of improved performance within teams versus individuals. Increases in tRAT scores compared with tRAT-lite scores represent the incremental score inflation generated by partial credit IF-AT scoring over and above increases attributable to team performance. While statistically significant, this increase was minimal and outweighed by the benefit of enhanced team interactions.