Stakeholder acceptance of digital team-based learning

Abstract

Team-Based Learning (TBL) can be associated with administrative processes that are labour intensive. A commercially-available online system offered an opportunity to reduce this burden. The aims of this study were to test the feasibility of integrating digital TBL into health curricula, and to explore the experiences and perspectives of students and educators participating in digital TBL. A prospective mixed methods design was used to survey postgraduate nursing and optometry students (n = 162), and educators (n = 8) at an Australian university. Student and educator perceptions of digital TBL collected were: usability (System Usability Scale); level of student engagement (Student Self-Report of Engagement); and user satisfaction post-participation in digital TBL (Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire). Mean Student Self-Report of Engagement Scores reflected high student engagement with significantly higher levels of engagement reported for digital (x‾=4.16, SD = 0.199) over paper-based (x‾=3.97, SD = 0.267) TBL (p = 0.001). System Usability Scores revealed students (during: x‾ = 72.35, SD = 15.70; post: x‾ = 74.02, SD = 14.00) and educators (x‾=75.0, SD = 15.12) perceived usability of digital TBL to be above average for systems on this scale. Students (x‾=2.40, SD = 0.19) and educators (x‾=2.36, SD = 0.80) were highly satisfied with digital TBL (Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire). High satisfaction and engagement outcomes suggest digital TBL is feasible, efficient, engaging and well accepted by stakeholders.

Keywords: Active learning; Digital learning; Education; Professional; Team-based learning.