Determining Indicators of High-Quality Application Activities for Team-Based Learning

Abstract

Objective. To determine the indicators of quality for application activities in pharmacy team-based learning (TBL). Methods. A modified Delphi process was conducted with pharmacy TBL experts. Twenty-three experts met the inclusion criteria, including having at least four years of TBL experience, designing at least eight TBL sessions, training others to use TBL, and authoring a peer-reviewed TBL pharmacy paper. In round 1, panelists responded to five open-ended questions about their successful TBL applications activities, including satisfaction with the activity and methods for creating positive student outcomes. In round 2, panelists indicated their level of agreement with the round 1 quality indicators using a four-point Likert rating. Consensus was set at 80% strongly agree/agree. In an open comment period, panelists provided suggestions to help expand the indicator descriptions. Indicators were verified based on TBL and the education literature. Results. Twenty panelists (87% of those eligible) responded in round 1 and 17 (85% participation) in round 2. Sixteen quality indicators were identified in round 1, with 14 achieving consensus in round 2. "Uses authentic pharmacy challenges or situations" (88% strongly agree/agree) and "incorporates or provides effective feedback to groups" (88% strongly agree/agree) met consensus. However, "has multiple right answers" (76% strongly agree/agree) and "incorporates elements from school specific emphases (eg, faith, underserved)" (53% strongly agree/agree) did not reach consensus. Conclusions. These indicators can assist faculty members in designing application activities to provide high-quality TBL exercises that promote deep thinking and engaged classroom discussion. The indicators could also guide faculty development and quality improvement efforts, such as peer review of application activities.

Keywords: Delphi; application activities; quality; team-based learning.