Effect of team-based learning on dental education in China: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Team-based learning (TBL) is a student-centered and teacher-directed teaching strategy. In contrast to the traditional lecture-based learning (LBL), TBL is committed to promoting self-directed learning and teamwork among students. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literatures was performed to compare the teaching effects between TBL and LBL in dental students. Methods: Literature review was conducted from electronic databases including PubMed, Ovid, Web of science, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP and Wanfang Database up to January 12, 2020. Results: A total of 12 articles with 831 students were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that students in the TBL group performed better than those in the LBL group in terms of theoretical grades (SMD: 1.29, p=0.002, 95%CI: 0.46-2.13), case analysis (SMD: 2.50, p<0.05, 95%CI 1.44-3.55) and grades of practice ability (SMD: 1.90, p=0.002, 95%CI: 0.68-3.12). However, the results of each parameter followed a significantly high heterogeneity (I-2 =96%, 92%, 93%, respectively). The quality of included studies was mostly good. Conclusion: TBL might be more effective to increase the absorption of theoretical knowledge and improve the ability of case analysis and practice. More well-designed and rigorous studies are required to validate this conclusion.