Using Team
Based Learning
Strategies to
Increase
Student
Success in
Chemistry
Courses
Tracy Knowles, Chad Mueller
Bluegrass Community and
Technical College
Lexington KY
Team-Based Learning(TBL)
Workshop Topics
 Team
Formation
 Course Design
 Structure of TBL
 Team Testing
 Application
Projects
 Peer Evaluation
 Data
Team Formation

Three principles
guiding team
formation



Use teacher
selected teams
Create diverse
teams by spreading
assets and liabilities
Make the selection
process transparent
Team Formation
 Group
lone wolves using multiple choice
question (Byrnes, Teaching Professor,
Vol.21 #5, May 2007)
Think about your experience working in groups and select the
one response that best fits your prior experience.
a. I enjoy working in groups because my group members
usually help me understand the material and tasks.
b. I question the value of group work for me, because I usually
end up doing more than my fair share of the work.
c. I have little or no experience working in groups.
d. I have a different experience than the choices given above.
Describe.
Now we will form teams…
Team Question #1

If you were to interview your students five
years after the completion of your course,
what would be most important for them to be
able to DO as a result of having completed
the course?
Think about this question individually for 5
minutes then come together with your team
and choose your team’s top 5 knowledge
and/or skill based outcomes.
Essential TBL Principles
 Primary
learning objectives shift from
information acquisition to concept
application
 Teacher role shifts from lecturer to
coach/guide
 Student role shifts from passive recipients
to active participants and collaborators
 Students are made accountable for
individual and group learning
 Team assignments promote both learning
and team development
TBL Module Structure
 Break
time
 Read BCTC TBL
handout
 Will take individual
and team test over
handout when you
return
Peer
Evaluation
BCTC Preliminary Data
 How
has the TBL curricular development
impacted student achievement (both
student performance and total
unsatisfactory achievement—D,E,W %)?
 Improvements


in TUA.
CHE 170 improved 13% from 54% to 41%
CHE 180 improved 16% from 45% to 29%
BCTC Preliminary Data

How has the TBL curricular development impacted
student achievement (both student performance
and total unsatisfactory achievement—D,E,W %)?

Improvements in student performance on
embedded questions in Chemistry


CHE 170 improved 6% from 65% (avg score from all
lecture sections Fall 08-Spring 10, 11 sections, 312
students, range 62-69%) to 71% (avg score from all TBL
sections 2010-2011, 13 sections, 300 students, range
63-80%)
CHE 180 improved 14% from 57% (avg score from all
lecture sections Fall 08-Fall 10, 6 sections, 146 students,
range 53-66%) to 71% (avg score from all TBL sections
2010-2011, 5 sections, 131 students, range 68-73%)
BCTC Preliminary Data

Progress of a Faculty Member new to TBL
Resources
http://www.teambasedlearning.org/
ISBN: 978-1579220860
Larry Michaelsen
http://www.designlearning.org/
ISBN: 978-0-7879-6055-1
L. Dee Fink
Resources
http://www.epsteineducation.com/home/
IFAT Forms ~$100 per 500 forms
http://bctctbl.wikispaces.com/
BCTC Wiki
Team TBAT Project


Your team will create a TBAT which meets all
of the 4S’s.
Your project should include:




Topic/module—unit conversions
Real-life scenario—athletes using supplements
Task—what will the students do?—calculate g/L
Report—how will they simultaneously report?—
chart paper reporting
TBAT cheat sheet
 4S’s




Significant Problem
Same Problem
Specific Choice
Simultaneously
report
 Ways
to simultaneously
report





Voting cards (A, B,
etc.)
Gallery walks
Hot seat reporting
Charting—Excel or
overhead
Cut and paste
reporting
Thank you for your participation!!!
 Tracy
Knowles— [email protected]
859-246-6460
 Chad Mueller— [email protected]
859-246-6551