Team-based learning for first year engineering students

Abstract

Although it was originally developed for a business school environment to promote the benefits of small-group teaching in a large group setting, the method of the team-based learning (TBL) has recently been increasingly used within medical education. On the other hand, the reports on its implementation in engineering and science education are much scarcer. The aim of this work is to discuss the experience, evaluation and lessons learned from the implementation of the TBL within a Year 1 engineering module—Process Engineering Fundamentals, enrolling 115 students, and the TBL method was introduced for the first time. To evaluate the acquired knowledge and perception of TBL, a students’ performance analysis and questionnaire were completed on two occasions. It was observed that the TBL approach improved student learning, enhanced their integration and sharing of knowledge in class, supporting the implementation of this method in engineering disciplines.