ASSESSING FIRST YEAR MEDICAL STUDENT ATTITUDES OF EFFECTIVENESS OF TEAM-BASED LEARNING

Adam S. Deardorff, MS2, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine Jeremy Moore. MS2, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine Dean X. Parmelee, MD, Office of Academic Affairs, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine Nicole J. Borges, PhD, Office of Academic Affairs, Department of Community Health, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

Introduction:  Medical school faculty have long recognized the importance of clinical application, group problem solving, and active learning in preparing first and second year medical students for national board examinations and clinical clerkships. While numerous strategies have evolved to supplement didactic lectures with active learning, a paucity of information exists within the literature regarding medical student attitudes toward the effectiveness of such active learning methods. Team-Based Learning (TBL) is a well defined active learning instructional strategy that is being employed increasingly in medical education. This study attempts to explore medical student attitudes regarding the effectiveness of TBL after completing their first year in a TBL curriculum.

Methods:  The 2008-2009 first year class at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine (94 students) was administered a 17-item question at the end of their first year of medical school to assess attitudes toward different aspects of TBL. Responses were reported on a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5) .

Results:  As expected, there was a great deal of variability among student responses toward the details of the TBL process (i.e., public team rankings, internet access during Application Exercises, grade weighted peer evaluations, TBL exercise time commitments, etc). However, when presented with more general questions on TBL effectiveness, student attitudes were generally in favor of TBL.

 Conclusion:  While individual attitudes toward many aspects of TBL varied, results suggest that first year medical students see TBL as a more effective opportunity to foster critical reasoning and clinical problem solving skills than other non-lecture, active methods of teaching and learning (i.e., labs, case discussions, etc), while also allowing for enhanced learning of core concepts through student-to-student interaction.