-Report on Experiments and Clinical Cases-

Team-based Learning Using an Audience Response System: A Possible New Strategy for Interactive Medical Education

Terumichi Fujikura^1,2,11, Toshiyuki Takeshita^3,11, Hiroshi Homma^4,11, Kouji Adachi^5,11, Koichi Miyake^6,11, Mitsuhiro Kudo^7,11, Takami Takizawa^8,11, Hiroshi Nagayama^9,11 and Keiko Hirakawa^10,11

¹Academic Quality and Development Office, Nippon Medical School
²Department of Head & Neck and Sensory Organ Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School
³Division of Reproductive Medicine, Perinatology and Gynecologic Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School
⁴Division of Cardiology, Hepatology, Geriatrics, and Integrated Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School
⁵Department of Neurosurgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School
⁶Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Division of Gene Therapy Research Center for Advanced Medical Technology, Nippon Medical School
⁷Department of Pathology and Integrative Oncological Pathology, Nippon Medical School
⁸Department of Molecular Medicine and Anatomy, Nippon Medical School
⁹Department of Neurological, Nephrological and Rheumatological Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School
¹⁰Department of Legal Medicine, Nippon Medical School
¹¹Small Group Learning Working Committee, Nippon Medical School

Following the "Guidelines for reporting TBL" by Haidet et al, we report on a team-based learning (TBL) course we adopted for our 4th-year students in 2011. Our TBL course is a modified version of the one suggested in the guidelines, but its structure generally follows the core elements described therein. Using an audience response system (ARS), we were able to obtain individual and group readiness assurance test scores immediately and give instant feedback to the students. Instructors were thus able to monitor students' understanding in real time and so appreciated the system, which supports interactive classes even in large classrooms. However, TBL is teacher-oriented, and students were less appreciative of ARS, because they recognized that it could be easily used for grading. Nevertheless, we believe that a combination of TBL, and problem-based learning in a mature design can improve both motivation and understanding among learners.

J Nippon Med Sch 2013; 80: 63-69

Keywords
team-based learning, audience response system, problem-based learning, interactive classes

Correspondence to
Terumichi Fujikura, Academic Quality and Development Office, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8602, Japan
teru-fujik@nms.ac.jp

Received, June 10, 2012
Accepted, September 24, 2012