Impact of Team-Based Learning on Academic Performance of Physiotherapy Students

Background: Team-Based Learning (TBL) is a cutting-edge teaching strategy that aims to raise student involvement and boost academic performance. The effect of TBL on student performance is not well understood in the context of health professions education, especially in physical therapy schools. Objective: The main objective of this study was to determine whether third-year DPT students' academic performance is significantly impacted by TBL. To determine the difference in the performance of students by calculating the scores of students who learned the assigned module through the team based learning versus who learned the assigned module through small group discussion. Methods: A Quasi-experimental cross-over study was conducted at Ali-Ul-Murtaza Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Muhammad Institute of Medical and Allied Sciences, Multan, Pakistan from Febraury-May 2024.All students of DPT (Doctor of Physiotherapy) studying in third year were grouped to small group discussion and team based learning for 6 themes in a five week-course. After 3 themes’ groups were flipped. The Team-Based Learning (TBL) methodology was conducted following the guidelines of AMEE Guide No. 65. For data analysis, we used SPSS version 23 and p-value less than 0.005 was considered significant. Results: The obtained scores of students at the end of the module showed that there was the slight difference in student scores i-e students obtaining knowledge through team based learning scores good than students gaining knowledge through small group discussion in themes 1-3 (TBL 45.16±8.7 versus SGD 40.9±9.15,p=0.003) However, in themes 4-6 there was significant difference between mean scores of both groups i-e in themes 4-6 (TBL 49.13±8.94 versus SGD 41.93±9.49,p=0.001) as TBL being more effective and engaging for students. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that Team-Based Learning has a positive impact on the academic achievement of third-year DPT students. Enhanced performance in both tests and assignments supports the assumption that TBL stimulates deeper learning and higher engagement.