Christopher Johnson's List: team based learning

• Rationale For Using Team-Based Learning In Medical Education

   

  In general, the highest quality clinical care is delivered not by individuals, but by teams (eg, physicians, nurses, social workers, etc) where there is good communication and the team process is managed effectively. Unfortunately, reward systems in medical education tend to focus on individual student performance rather than team skills (e.g., course grading, licensure exams). Consequently, this system of rewards promotes behaviors counter to high quality clinical care in teams by fostering competition and ego-centrism.

• Teams

• More often than not, reported failures of using small groups stem largely from a misconception of what "groups" really are. Instructors often make the assumption that the act of assigning a set of individuals to work together automatically means that they will function as a team. Becoming a team is a process, not an event. Unless instructors facilitate the transformation of groups into teams, their success in using small groups is likely to be limited at best.

   

  ¹This conclusion is based on data collected from over a thousand f
• aculty participants in “Getting the Most out of Groups” workshops on nearly 100 college and university campuses world wide.
• empowers"
• The second and most visible step of the Team Learning Model involves the use of new and essential operational tools. These tools, when used together with proper course design, provide a modified learning environment within which new instructor and student roles and responsibilities can be successfully carried out.

• Course Design might be thought of as a creative process in which the instructor establishes a strategic framework that serves as a basis for ensuring that individual course components are mutually supportive. As a course designer (see Figure 1), the instructor:

   
   
  • defines course content,
   
  • identifies what students should be able to do with course concepts,
   
  • establishes acceptable performance standards for individuals and groups and
   
  • develops group assignments and class activities through which students can master the essential concepts of the course.
   
   

  Classroom Management, Student Group Composition and Development and Performance Evaluation make up the
• Team Learning = Course Design + Classroom Management +Student Group Composition + Performance Evaluation
• Using a Readiness Assurance Process to “Cover” Content without Lectures
• Instructor Feedback
• Key Principals in Forming Learning Teams
• Ensuring the Development of Performance-Oriented Group Norms
• Provide comparisons to other teams.
• • individual preparation, upon which the team's success or failure depends, is highly likely to emerge as a team norm.
   
  • Require a peer evaluation.
• Have students keep a record of attendance and performance. Another effective way to encourage development of
• BENEFITS OF THE TEAM LEARNING MODEL
• Teaching Large Classes Effectively
• Increased Social Support for Various Types of “At-Risk” Students

• Development of Interpersonal Skills

   

  Students also benefit from interacting in a situation in which group work really counts. Unlike temporary groups where tough interpersonal issues can be avoided simply by waiting until the end of the class period, students in Team Learning classes cannot easily escape the problems they encounter in their groups. As a result, many learn lessons about themselves that allow them to be more effective and productive when they finish school and enter the work force. For example, students who are intellectually capable but socially unskilled, learn through being exposed to more positive role models and through input from peers who have enough at stake that they are willing to give them helpful (but not always positive) feedback. In addition, because students have to learn to work together, they develop the understanding and skills they need to work productively as task group members. Finally, part of effective group work is believing that the benefits of working in groups outweigh the costs. Unlike groups used in a supplementary way, the vast majority of Team Learning groups provide solid evidence of the tremendous potential of effective groups

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• Paired Annotations

   

  Students pair up to review/learn same article, chapter or content area and  exchange double-entry journals (see below) for reading and  reflection.
  
  Students discuss key points and look for divergent and  convergent thinking and ideas.
  
  Together students prepare a composite  annotation that summarizes the article, chapter, or concept.

• Team Expectations

   

  Some of the common fears about working with groups include student fears that  each member will not pull their weight as a part of the group. Students are  scared that their grade will be lower as a result of the group learning vs.  learning they do individually. One way to address this issue is to use a group  activity to allow the group to outline acceptable group behavior. Put together a  form and ask groups to first list behaviors (expectations) they expect from each  individual, each pair and as a group as a whole.
  Groups then can use this as  a way to monitor individual contributions to the group and as a way to evaluate  group participation.