Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Ave, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Ave, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2020 May;25(2):383-399. doi: 10.1007/s10459-019-09931-3. Epub 2019 Oct 18.
Health sciences education is increasingly focusing on building students' skills to work collaboratively. Therefore, instructors must intentionally incorporate team-based skill building into their courses, using teaching strategies like team-based learning (TBL). An assumption of TBL is that team dynamics facilitate learning; however, limited research has examined this connection. The primary purposes of this mixed-methods evaluation were: (a) to describe the characteristics of team dynamics in a graduate-level research methods course that employs a modified TBL approach, and (b) to examine the association between team dynamics and student grades. Given the importance of preparing health professional students to work collaboratively in their careers, a secondary aim was to examine how team skills developed through a team-based learning approach could be transferred to other courses and to future jobs. We conducted surveys on team dynamics at mid-semester (n = 64) and the end of the semester (n = 66), collected students' grades for the final paper and overall course, and conducted 4 focus groups with Master of Public Health students (n = 25). Paired t tests were used to examine change in team dynamics and correlations were conducted to assess the relationship between team dynamics and grades. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes related to team dynamics from the focus group data. Overall, students reported experiencing positive and beneficial team dynamics. The findings support two main underlying categories of team dynamics, interpersonal team processes and task orientation, and the linkages between the categories that allow teams to function. Team dynamics scores were not associated with student grades. However, students recognized the value of practicing team skills in preparation for future group work and jobs. These findings suggest that active learning approaches, such as TBL, can help to facilitate the acquisition of collaborative skills.
健康科学教育越来越注重培养学生的协作技能。因此，教师必须有意地将基于团队的技能培养纳入他们的课程中，使用基于团队的学习（TBL）等教学策略。TBL 的一个假设是团队动态有助于学习；然而，有限的研究已经检验了这种联系。这项混合方法评估的主要目的是：（a）描述采用改良的 TBL 方法的研究生水平研究方法课程中的团队动态特征，以及（b）研究团队动态与学生成绩之间的关系。鉴于培养健康专业学生在职业生涯中协作的重要性，次要目的是检验通过基于团队的学习方法发展的团队技能如何能够转移到其他课程和未来的工作中。我们在学期中期（n=64）和学期末（n=66）进行了团队动态调查，收集了学生最终论文和整个课程的成绩，并与 25 名公共卫生硕士学生进行了 4 个焦点小组讨论。配对 t 检验用于检验团队动态的变化，相关性用于评估团队动态与成绩之间的关系。主题分析用于从焦点小组数据中确定与团队动态相关的主题。总体而言，学生报告体验到积极和有益的团队动态。研究结果支持团队动态的两个主要基本类别，即人际关系团队过程和任务导向，以及允许团队发挥作用的类别之间的联系。团队动态分数与学生成绩无关。然而，学生认识到在为未来的团队工作和工作做准备时实践团队技能的价值。这些发现表明，诸如 TBL 之类的主动学习方法可以帮助促进协作技能的获取。
