Information Systems Department College of Computing Sciences New Jersey Institute of Technology CIS677-102/4: Information Systems Principles, Spring 2005 Professor Bieber
A Public Research University

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Team-based Learning

Contents

• Motivation
• Description
• Comparing TBL to Traditional Lectures
• Teams vs. Groups
• Reference

Motivation

While the lecture approach is the predominant teaching model at many universities, people have been identifying many problems with it. Students usually are passive learners, with professors trying to "pour" information into them. It's hard to keep attentive for 1 entire hour, let alone for 3 hours after a long day at work in evening courses.

For many years, researchers in education have been working on many alternate approaches for more effective learning. Research has shown that people do not learn materials well just by reading. To the contrary, people only really understand the materials by trying to apply them. Furthermore, people learn concepts and skills better when sharing in teams than working in isolation. Thus, most of the newer educational approaches emphasize active learning by students, in which professors move from being a "sage on a stage" to a "guide on the side." Team-based learning is one of these student-centered, instead of instructor-centered approaches.

Description

With Team-based Learning (TBL) the class period is devoted exclusively to team activities. Outside class is devoted to individual activities and preparation for class. There will be few (if any) team activities outside the classroom. Because lecturing just takes up valuable time repeating the information in the course materials, the professor does not lecture. Instead the professor acts as a mentor, working with each team when they need assistance with their activities. (Designing class activities and tests involves a large amount of preparation for the professor.)

TBL courses are broken into 5-7 modules, each with one or more related topics. Each module is structured as follows:

1. Readiness Assurance Process: Assuring that students are ready to learn from team activities and additional individual homework assignments
   • Students study all the materials for each module before the module begins. They are expected to come to class ready to start applying what they have studied. The team activities during class are where people will really come to understand the concepts deeply.
   • Each team can optionally ask one question about the module materials.
   • We then will assure that everyone is ready to start working on the classroom activities. The Readiness Assurance Process concludes with the following steps, which could take most of the first half of the class period:
     • Individual Readiness Assurance Test (iRAT) - iRAT scores count towards each student's individual grade. Individual grades remain confidential.
     • Team Readiness Assurance Test (tRAT) - The team repeats the same iRAT, but work on the test together. tRAT scores count towards the team's grade. tRAT scores are shown to the entire class.
     • Written Appeals of tRAT - Only the tRAT score can be appealed, not the iRAT. In an appeal, a team must demonstrate that it understood the concepts but missed the answer anyway because a question was ambiguous or the answer was not knowable. (link to Appeals Instructions)
     • Professor Feedback - The professor will review concepts that the tRATs showed the class to be having trouble with
2. Application Oriented Activities: These will be several structured activities, such as analyzing a problem, a case study or an article. Teams will all work on the same activity. Teams will share their results with the entire class so they can be compared. Teams will be able to question and challenge each other's results in a class-wide discussion. Many of these activities will be graded. Team grades will be public.
3. End-of-Module Test (EMT): Students hopefully have learned from both the readiness assurance process, team exercises, and any individual homework assignments. An individual end-of-module test will help determine how well students have learned.

These events will take place as follows:

• During the first class period of a module, we will hold the readiness assurance process and begin application-oriented activities.
• During subsequent class periods in a module, we will continue to work on these team activities.
• The end-of-module test will take place at the end of each module's last class period.

Comparing TBL to Traditional Lectures

Several slides from Michaelsen, Knight & Fink [2004] and http://www.teambasedlearning.org/ provide this comparison.

• Learning objectives and instructional strategies
• Relative time spent on different activities
• Means for accomplishing the key educational tasks required for higher-level learning
• Driving a more powerful learning process

Teams vs. Groups

TBL utilizes teams in a much different way than typical group projects.

• Teams remain together the entire semester, so you have time to learn everyone's individual strengths and to learn to work together effectively.
• All (or almost all) teamwork is done in class, so there is no need to coordinate schedules outside of class.
• Team activities are structured not to be "divisible" and will involve all members at all times. With no separable tasks (such as long writing), team members will work on all tasks together.
• Team members do not have individual "roles" or assigned responsibilities.
• Individuals are graded on their team participation through peer evaluation. Thus individuals can not "free load" without consequences.

Reference

Michaelsen, Larry, Arletta Bauman Knight and L. Dee Fink (editors), Team-based Learning: A Transformative Use of Small Groups in College Teaching, Stylus Publishing, LLC, Sterling VA, 2004.