European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

TEAM BASED LEARNING - ORIENTATION OF TEACHING FACULTY TO TBL IN THE TBL MODE, IN A CARIBBEAN MEDICAL SCHOOL.

Honnavar P., Dwivedi N. R., Dubey A. K. and Bhat M. S.*

ABSTRACT

Aim: The present paper is a report on how the teaching faculty at a Caribbean medical school in Aruba was oriented to the TBL strategy before implementation to students. Method: Sixteen teaching faculty, most of whom were active PBL facilitators, took part in the TBL orientation. The orientation session was conducted in the TBL mode with three steps - Individual advance student preparation (ASP), In-class readiness assurance programme (RAP) and In-class application focused exercise (AFE). The RAP step had three sub-steps - individual and team readiness assurance tests (IRAT and TRAT), Appeals round and Instructor feedback round. Based on the IRAT scores, the sixteen faculty were divided into four groups of four each to proceed to the TRAT. Correct answers were notified to the groups to activate the appealing round followed by the instructor feedback round. In the AFE, teams were asked to discuss on how the TBL process could be implemented at XUSOM. Results and discussion: The orientation session concluded successfully with faculty gaining an in-depth understanding of how TBL is to be conducted. In conclusion, appropriate orientation of teaching faculty to TBL enables its successful implementation. The orientation is best achieved by delivering it in the TBL-mode.

Keywords: Team based learning, TBL, IRAT, TRAT, AFE.