Team Based Learning in Medical Education: The Ross University in Freeport Experience
*Selfridge, N., *Fox, S., ¶Seidel, C., §Sheakley, M. and ¶Robinson, M. Departments of *Integrated and ¶Foundations of Medicine, Ross University School of Medicine, Freeport, Grand Bahamas. §Department of Physiology, Ross University School of Medicine, Dominica
In January 2009, Ross University School of Medicine opened a teaching site in Freeport, Grand Bahama devoted entirely to teaching third and fourth semester pre-clinical students. The teaching principle guiding the Freeport site was that all students, while using the same curriculum as the main medical school site on Dominica, would be taught in small groups, including six team based learning (TBL) blocks per semester. This teaching method contrasted with the Freeport students’ cohorts on Dominica who had free access to lectures, but did not have TBL sessions. The Freeport students did have access to taped lectures, handouts and all other teaching materials used at the Dominica site, thus allowing us to compare the teaching styles at the two teaching sites. The results obtained will be discussed with reference to: students’ grades, attendance, the peer review process; and student/faculty satisfaction. The data indicate that Freeport students, despite no direct access to lectures or faculty on Dominica, have fared at least as well as their Dominica counterparts. Furthermore, feedback from both Freeport faculty and students has been mostly positive. These results suggest that TBL can be used to effectively teach preclinical students.
