Importance of Team Based Learning on the Academic Performance of Medical Students: A Systematic Review

The quest for an excellent learning tool to enhance productivity and ultimate success in academia is not farfetched, as both students and faculty would be able to benefit from such discovery. However, one would quickly realize that learning is individualized and what works for one person might not necessarily work for another, as is the case most of the time. This is why learning methods that have proven to work at various settings and scenario need constant publishing and subsequent implementation at institutions especially when they are affordable. The aim of this study therefore, is to detail the benefits realized from the use of Team-based learning as a primary mode of instruction/learning for students at higher institutions. Team based learning (TBL) is an active form of learning that encourages individual and team involvement in learning in an academic setting. Unlike traditional pedagogy aimed at lecture delivery with application of concepts later tested, team based learning fosters immediate involvement in applying concepts being learned long before exams are taken. The aim of this study is to explore the details of the process involved in facilitating TBL while elucidating the benefits realized there in. To do this, we elected to review journal articles of previously done studies on the same topic published on databases such as Google scholar and MEDLINE. 11 articles were summarized, emphasizing on the various methods used by the researchers; most of them being experimental studies that were carried out at various academic institutions.The results showed positive feedback as students were not only able to improve their performances significantly on exams but also retain learned information longer with TBL. Students also exhibited positive attitudes toward learning the material when TBL was used. It was concluded therefore that students should adopt this method and indeed recommend it in all learning levels