Small Group Activities
18 articles were reviewed. Four of these articles are on Simulation Based Learning; seven on
Team-Based Learning, and the rest on Problem-Based Learning.
Practice points
 TBL is a feasible and effective educational approach in preparing large numbers of
students for learning in a PBL environment. Its implementation could be adapted to fit
the course objectives, content and context.
 TBL is a cost-effective and less resource demanding approach that appears to develop
students’ understanding of PBL.
 TBL could be combined with PBL as a strategy to support guided discovery learning.
 PBL is resource intensive for faculty and these resource implications may cause
resistance to any intended introductory courses.
 Students joining an integrated PBL medical curriculum need to be prepared for their
future learning.
Phase one: ‘Preparatory phase’
Four mini workshops (2 h each) were conducted over a period of 4 weeks. It introduced students
to adult learning principles, small group and PBL, concept mapping, reflective and constructive
feedback, self and peer evaluation and information search, assimilation and presentation. This
gave the students a background understanding of why the school had adopted a PBL approach to
learning.
Phase two: ‘Application of TBL and PBL’
This phase extended over 6 weeks. All students were introduced to three health related problems:
(a) the newborn, antenatal and postnatal care, (b) obesity in adulthood, and (c) care of the elderly
(Figure 1). Each problem was studied over two sessions (2 weeks); one session per week for 2 h.
Session one included in-class and out-of-class activities.
In the class, each team read the problem and discussed possible explanations of the different cues
and identified team-learning issues. In each team, the tutorial session was lead by one student
‘peer tutor’ (Maudsley et al. 2007). The ‘peer tutor’ was responsible for facilitation of ‘intragroup.
Phase three: ‘Student’s assessment and course evaluation’
The assessment blueprint was developed in order to match assessment instruments with the
course outcome. Program evaluation and students’ perception of the course was obtained through
a structured questionnaire which included 28 items measuring individual students’ perception of
the course learning process (TBL/PBL) and learning skills (12 items), knowledge contents (2),
personal development (3), educational environment (3), student assessment (1) and evaluating
the faculty (7)
Abstracts articles
Abdelkhalek N, Using TBL approach to prepare students for PBL approach. University of
Sharjah, UAE & Chinese University of Honk Kong, China
This study looked at using Team Based Learning (TBL) method to get students ready for
a Problem Based Learning (PBL) curriculum. Study included 363 medical and dental first
year students. They were divided into 25 per class and then into groups of 8 or 9 in a
group. A questionnaire with 28 questions was used in evaluation. The study used mean
score and averages to rate student satisfaction with the method. Results proved that the
TBL method was successful, extremely satisfied students and the students were ready for
PBL curriculum in a week.
Haidet P, 2012 on TBL
This study proposes guidelines for using the TBL method and also about reporting the
results. They identify the seven core elements of the TBL method and relate them to
educational principles that maximize student engagement and learning.
Hartling L, 2010 on PBL, University of Alberta, Canada
This article is a systematic review on PBL. Studies included were 30 (MEDLINE,
PSYCINFO & ERIC). Results indicate that PBL does not impact knowledge acquisition.
Koles PG, 2010
This study looks at TBL and how it affects students’ performance in examinations. Study
looked at 178 second year medical students and how they fared in 28 comprehensive
course exams over a 2 year period. The students performed better in their exams related
to course content. Students in the lowest quartile benefit more than the students in the
upper quartile.
McGaghie WC,
This article (Review) evaluates studies on Simulation Technology in undergraduate and
graduate medical education and its implications for CME. It concludes that this
technology is a powerful tool in health education. It does not replace real patient
interactions and caring but just complements it.