Craig Scott
Professor, Medical Education and Biomedical Informatics, 91探花Seattle
Dr. Scott, a professor in Medical Education and Biomedical Informatics, and Director of the Northwest Consortium for Clinical Assessment in the School of Medicine,U W Seattle, has been working to create classroom environments in which faculty members can better share their expertise and insights than by lecturing. Moodle, a learning management system, is used to administer 鈥榓nswer until correct鈥� class-prep
feedback quizzes at the beginning of class, which leads into processes that promote more active student participation during class. He says that (TBL), a form of small-group learning that promotes collaboration, active learning,
and critical thinking, has several key attributes that make it an attractive supplement and/or alternative to lecturing.
Benefits for students: As Dr. Scott described in an October 2012 Ignite! presentation, team-based learning better simulates the real-world experience of practicing medicine. He noted, 鈥淢edicine is a discipline of teams, and we have never concentrated on teamwork as much as we are now. We recognize that every facet of medicine involves individuals working together, and we鈥檙e trying to start students off with team-based learning. One of the problems we鈥檙e trying to address is the lack of value that the classroom has been adding for many students. We鈥檙e now venturing into team-based learning where they鈥檙e accountable for their pre-class preparation; students are choosing to come to class to participate in small teams.鈥� He added, 鈥渓ectures are largely dispensed with. It gets very, very noisy if it works right.鈥�
Student reactions: 鈥淪tudents are certainly more engaged; they uniformly prepare better for class. TBL is coming to be viewed as a qualified success both by students and by initial faculty adopters, at least to the extent that most seem to like it relative to exclusive lecturing. Team-based learning has the potential for making better use of student鈥檚 most valuable resource 鈥� time.鈥�
Advice: 鈥淭rust students 鈥� help them be more active in and accountable for their learning. Encourage transformative thinking by faculty 鈥� help them realize that there are often better ways to give students the benefit of their expertise than by lecturing.鈥�
Learn More
Read the full Provost report on how 91探花faculty are enhancing teaching with technology.