The Effectiveness of Team-based Learning (TBL) as a New Teaching Approach for Pharmaceutical Care Education

The concept of Team-Based Learning (TBL) was developed in the late 1970s by Larry Michaelsen, who wanted students to enjoy the benefits of small group learning within large classes in the business school environment. In contrast to problem-based learning (PBL), which is student centered, TBL is typically instructor centered. Recently, TBL is being used as a teaching method in over 60 health science professional schools in the US and other countries. In the present study, the impact of adopting TBL in teaching pharmaceutical care practices to students was evaluated. Students were required to answer a set of multiple-choice questions individually in individual readiness assessment test (IRAT) before the TBL sessions to assess their level of preparation. The same set of questions was then reattempted by the group readiness assessment test (GRAT) during TBL. Comparing the scores obtained in the GRAT and IRAT before the first TBL session, the scores from the GRAT were always higher than those of the IRAT, indicating that TBL has encouraged active learning. In addition, students were surveyed about their level of satisfaction with TBL and written comments about TBL were solicited. The results of the questionnaire showed that 87.3 +/- 9.3% of the students were satisfied. Moreover, no student commented that TBL was in any way inferior to the PBL. Implementation of a TBL approach was successfully integrated into the pharmaceutical care education course. In order to further improve the usefulness of TBL in teaching pharmaceutical care, a hybrid teaching approach that also comprises PBL and a lecture-based course is desirable.