Traditional Lectures and Team-Based Learning in an Occupational Therapy Program: A Survey of Student Perceptions

Abstract

Background: Team-Based Learning (TBL) is an active instructional approach used in health care education that incorporates group work.

A Comparison of Modified Team-Based Learning and Lecture-Based Instruction in Occupational Therapy Education

“…Therefore, occupational therapy educators could expect attainment of learning objectives using either instructional method when designing human movement/kinesiology based courses. Further, student perception of TBL was generally positive which contrasts with previous occupational therapy literature (Zachry et al, 2017). This suggests further qualitative research using structured or semi-structed interviews may be helpful in developing a more comprehensive understanding of occupational therapy student's perception of TBL.…”

“…A significant feature of a TBL classroom is the RAT. Previous research indicates that occupational therapy students are uncomfortable with the readiness assessment component of TBL design (Epstein, 2016;Zachry et al, 2017). Therefore, the acceptance of the assessment measures of the TBL Cohort differs from the previous reporting and argues for the acceptance of the TBL approach.…”

“…Demonstrated improvements in academic performance (Bleske et al, 2014;Gopalan & Klann, 2017), increased student feelings of empowerment and engagement (McLaughlin et al, 2013), increased attendance, student cooperation (Jakobsen & Knetmann, 2017), and improved interprofessional teamwork skills (Black et al, 2016) are reported using the TBL method. However, Zachry et al (2017) reported occupational therapy students preferring LBI. Students felt that listening to lectures improved their understanding of the material and held their attention longer than TBL activities.…”

“…Students felt that listening to lectures improved their understanding of the material and held their attention longer than TBL activities. Furthermore, familiarity with didactic assessment used in LBI may also explain occupational therapy student preference for LBI (Zachry et al, 2017). Epstein (2016) reported a similar preference for LBI in a cohort of speech and language pathology students, suggesting a disconnect between educational and neurocognitive research and the perceptions of occupational therapy and speech and language pathology students.…”

“…Traditional, podium delivered, lecture-based instruction (LBI) is an instructional method used in occupational therapy education (de Sam Lazaro & Riley, 2019;Zachry et al, 2017). While LBI is useful in transferring information, it is a passive learning method that relies on fact transfer through memorization and therefore, is less effective in the development of critical thinking (Bligh, 1998;Ironside, 2005).…”