TBL alone or combined with other teaching methods for neurology education in China: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND: Team-based learning (TBL) has been applied in neurology teaching. This meta-analysis aimed to compare the effects of TBL alone or in combination with other methods versus lecture-based learning (LBL) on improving the teaching effects of neurology in China. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was performed to obtain randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the efficacy of TBL and LBL on neurology education in China. The Review Manager 5.2 software and STATA 15.0 software were employed for this meta-analysis of the included studies. RESULTS: A total of 16 studies involving 1267 medical students were included. The pooled results showed that compared to traditional LBL, TBL was related to higher theoretical knowledge scores and practical skill scores (SMD = 1.16, 95% CI: 0.77 to 1.54, p < 0.00001; SMD = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.19 to 2.24, p < 0.00001; respectively). Additionally, our results demonstrated the efficacy of TBL in enhancing students' self-study ability, communication skills, and teamwork ability (SMD = 1.15, 95% CI: 0.69 to 1.61, p < 0.00001; SMD = 2.36, 95% CI: 0.74 to 3.98, p = 0.004; SMD = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.68 to 1.26, p < 0.00001; respectively ). Meanwhile, students in the TBL group were more satisfied than those in the LBL group. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that TBL-based teaching approaches (including TBL alone and TBL combined with other methods) may be more effective than LBL in enhancing theoretical knowledge scores and practical skill scores in Chinese neurology education. Additionally, TBL may be associated with improved self-study capacity, communication skills, teamwork ability as well as student satisfaction. However, considering the limitations such as the low methodological quality of the included studies and obvious heterogeneity, future multicenter, cross-cultural and high-quality studies are needed to validate and generalize our findings.