This document describes using team-based learning (TBL) pedagogy in a 1-year Masters of Engineering and Management program to develop students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Key aspects of TBL include assigning pre-work, using readiness assessments and application exercises in small groups, and conducting in-class discussions. Assessment data shows self-reported improvements in students' ability to summarize issues, identify assumptions, develop hypotheses, and use evidence-based reasoning after participating in TBL activities.

1. Team-Based Learning
Pedagogy:
Transforming classroom
Dialogue and learning
Colin K. Drummond
Patrick Crago
Gary Wnek
March 22, 2013
Engineering Better Health

2. Topics
Subjects of discussion
Context: Program of study
 One-year “Masters of Engineering and Management”
 Engineers building managerial and leadership skills
Skills to develop
 Critical thinking skills
 Dealing with ambiguity Employer feedback
these are priorities
 Self-directed learning
Student activities to build skills
 Team-based learning
 In-class “chalk talk” and “elevator pitches”
 Networking to build “social capital”
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3. Program of study
1-Year MS degree in “Engineering & Management”
Summer Fall Spring
Professional Understanding People Information Technology &
Development and Change in Systems
Organizations
Accounting, Finance & Engineering Statistics in Enterprise Resource
Engineering Economics Quality – Six Sigma Planning in the Supply
Chain
Product Process Design, Product Process Design,
Project Management Development and Development and
Delivery I Delivery II
Materials & Mfg. Engineering Engineering
Processes Entrepreneurship I Entrepreneurship II Focus
1 Elective 1 Elective
Credit Total 12 Credit Total 15 Credit Total 15
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4. Real-world decisions
Problems in the “new economy” can be challenging
 Interdisciplinary problems prevail
Especially if technology is involved
 Team solutions are essential
Traditional education techniques
focus on individual (not team)
performance
“The road less traveled”
 Tomorrow’s problems unpredictable
Have to train students to solve types
of problems that do not exist today
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5. Real-world decisions
More than 1 solution can exist for business problems
Undergraduate Successful
Engineering Entrepreneur
Type Numbers Words
Scope Bounded Unbounded
Learning Directed Self-directed
Accountability Individual Team
 Students must be comfortable with ‘vague’ problems
 Students must develop new competencies
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6. What made you get started on this?
Student inability to deal with ambiguity and limited data
They could recite facts based
on traditional lectures, but …
Critical thinking skills were
weak, so I began to wonder ….
Were my instruction methods
appropriate for the outcomes I
was seeking?
The discovery of tools Were new tools needed?
What was I really looking for?
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7. Critical Thinking Skills
Focus on three items, though all are important
 Identifies, summarizes, and reformulates the situation.
 Identifies critical assumptions or situational context.
 Develops individual perspective, hypothesis or position.
 Finds, assesses, & analyzes appropriate supporting data.
 Integrates issues from other perspectives and positions.
 Identifies and assesses conclusions & consequences.
 Communicates effectively.
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8. Activities in the classroom
Cross-reference to skill development areas
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Team-based
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Chalk talk
Elevator pitches
Learning Plans
Primary
Secondary
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9. Team-Based Learning
A disciplined, formalized process
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10. Key components of the process
The three “S” model
Individual and group efforts centered on the same problem
Course concepts used to make and defend specific choices
Group work and thinking is public and shared simultaneously
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11. Would this fly?
Some risk involved
Prior focus on didactic learning:
Conveying by lectures
Instructor-focused
Assumes professor is correct
TBL focuses on dialectic learning
Art of reasoning
Statements rationale required
Teaching of how, not what
A shift to life-long learning skills
“A flying dog?”
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12. TBL relative to other techniques
Often confused with the case study method
Dialectic
Problem
Based
Learning Team
Based
Learning Case Learning
Method Study
Traditional Method
Engineering
Courses
Book
Didactic
Faculty Peers
Discussion Expertise
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13. Changes the way you prepare for class
Pre-class work emphasized, class is about applications
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14. Changes the way you prepare for class
Multiple choice questions took on a new life!
1. Individual Readiness
assessment:
5-10 MC questions
2. Turn in paper, and
immediately convene
groups to complete the
Immediate Feedback (IF)
form
3. Class meets together and
discusses results;
members of the team are
asked to defend decision
Then, on to the Grand Challenge (case study) Page 14

15. Grand Challenge
Case studies from real work experiences
Two-page case
 Students read in-class (will not have seen before)
 Case is related to syllabus topics and theory
One of three decisions is selected
 One is the real outcome
 Another is based on theory
 Sometimes theory and outcome are the same
Teams reach a consensus on “best” choice
 Write-up a one-page “memo to manager”
 Present and defend to rest of class
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16. Grand Challenge
Uncover failure-prone tactics
Rush to judgment –
Locking in on the first solutions
Narrow look at motivations and remedies
Misuse of resources –
Failing to take a systems perspective
Inadequate scenario analysis
Failure-prone tactics –
Inadequate participation in decision-making
Failing to uncover all concerns
Limiting search for remedies
Pressure to “have an answer”
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17. Some results
Post TBL self-assessment
Summarize Aware Develop Evidence Average
Issue Assumptions Hypothesis Based Improvement
Fall 2012 0.311 0.380 0.143 0.319 0.288
7.1% 8.9% 3.1% 7.8%
Fall 2011 0.440 0.604 0.440 0.405 0.472
10.3% 15.1% 10.6% 10.0%
Fall 2010 0.337 0.668 0.217 0.470 0.423
8.3% 18.3% 5.4% 12.2%
Fall 2009 0.120 0.140 0.053 0.453 0.192
2.8% 3.5% 1.3% 11.7%
Fall 2008 0.139 0.129 0.138 0.125 0.133
3.3% 3.3% 3.3% 3.3%
University of Washington CTS Instrument
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18. Summary
The journey has just started, really
Educational outcomes
 Students more engaged in class
 International students find peer support encouraging
 Graduates reflect and provide feedback
Employment
 Recruiters like the focus
 No statistical basis yet
Value
 IRB will cover Spring 2013
 Review plan and see if collected data to test hypotheses
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19. Reshaping Entrepreneurship Education
Call to action
Would like to have others consider this technique
• Does this really work?
• Is it fun and educational, or just fun?
Have others build a base of expertise
• How to better evaluate reasoning skills
• What are the “strides and stumbles” with the large
group?
Create and share case studies
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