Team-based learning in Physiotherapy education: students’ perceptions and preferences compared to the traditional lecture.

1) to analyze the perception that students have about the TBL methodology; 2) to describe and understand the degree of responsibility, engagement and satisfaction of students regarding the learning process when the teaching methodology of TBL is used to solve a clinical case; 3) to obtain evidence of student preferences (TBL vs MC) in terms of level of attention and ability to remember the content received; and 4) to compare students' performance with MC versus TBL.

A cross-sectional survey study was carried out (Code FIS-2022-14). Twenty-four university students enrolled in the subject of Clinical Reasoning and Evidence Based Practice of the OMPT Master´s programme at Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC) during the academic year 2022-23 were included. Two classes of five hour duration each were instructed, the first one according to the TBL methodology and the second one according to the MC model. TBL methodology included three phases: “preparation” (review of theoretical content at home), “orientation” (performance of the Readiness Assurance Test at an individual and group level) and “execution of the task and evaluation” (working in teams). Engagement, satisfaction and preferences were collected through the TBL Student Assessment Instrument (TBL-SAI). Students’ performance was assessed with a theoretical examination.

Students perceived TBL as an effective learning tool, as indicated by their mean scores being above the neutral score on all scales. This suggests a positive experience with TBL in terms of accountability (25.57), preference for a learning mode (51.04), and satisfaction (32.43). 

Our findings show that manual therapy students found the TBL strategy used in this study to be engaging, which helped them become more responsible toward their learning and groups. They seemed to prefer the TBL sessions over the traditional method. They displayed a high level of satisfaction with learning in teams, which was used as a teaching resource during the activities, thus reporting an overall positive experience. Given the traits and learning preferences of the new generations, TBL could provide a positive experience, successful academic performance, and positive learning outcomes in the physiotherapy profession.

Given the traits and learning preferences of the new generations, TBL could provide a positive experience, successful academic performance, and positive learning outcomes in the physiotherapy profession.