Athens Journal of Education - Volume 6 - Issue 1 - Application of Team-Based Learning at a Health Science Course, A Case Study

Oct 15, 2026

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Study purpose is to identify students’ reactions to implementing team-based learning (TBL) as an instructional strategy in a pharmacology course within a Turkish university context. TBL is framed as active learning that combines individual effort with team involvement, increasingly used in medical education. Prior literature notes that students apply concepts learned in class before examinations, while instructors gain clearer insight into student achievement compared with traditional lecturing. Limited research in Turkey motivates this undergraduate health science case study, with initial results indicating student learning benefits.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Team-based learning in higher education

Cultural context and power distance

Mixed student- and teacher-centered approaches

TBL definition and learning environment

Comparison with problem-based learning (PBL)

Athens Journal of Education-Volume 6, Issue 1 – Pages 77-92 Application of Team-Based Learning at a Health Science Course: A Case Study By Elif Bengü 􀀍 The purpose of this study is to identify students’ reactions to the implementation of team-based learning as an instructional strategy in a pharmacology course in the context of a Turkish university. Team-based learning is defined as an active form of learning that not only encourages individual effort but also team involvement to learn in an academic setting. Team-based learning is one of the learning techniques/methods that is increasingly being used in medical education. Literature shows that in teambased learning students apply the concepts at the time they are learned in the classroom, before the exams, as opposed to traditional lecturing, in which the concepts that are learned are later tested in the exams. Furthermore, research supports that faculty are more engaged with their students in team-based learning, since it affords instructors the ability to readily identify what their students are achieving, as opposed to traditional lecturing or other group approaches. There are limited studies in Turkey that examine the applications of team-based learning in a higher education setting. Therefore, this study describes the use of the team-based learning technique in an undergraduate health science course in Turkey. The initial results indicate that this instructional strategy was beneficial for students’ learning. Keywords: active learning, adult education, health science, higher education, high power distance, large classroom, team-based learning. Introduction Although educators in teacher training programs often encourage their students to use alternative teaching methods, when it comes to teaching these methods, traditional methods are mostly used in the classroom. The situation is even more troublesome in other departments in the universities, especially when it comes to departments where critical thinking skills and effective teamwork are part of the skillset that students are required to obtain (Hrynchak & Batty, 2012) . In their 2017 study, Frisby, Slone, and Bengu highlighted that the application of instructional methods can show cultural differences and as a result of that students and instructors may view the teaching and learning process differently. Turkey scores high on power distance, which is one of the independent dimensions of the culture that was identified by Hofstede (as cited in Frisby, Slone, & Bengu, 2017) . In cultures with a high power distance, power is centralized and there is a strict hierarchical order (Frisby et al., 2017) . Research shows that the Turkish higher education system has the elements of traditional 􀀍 ssistant rofessor chool of Educational cience bdullah l University, Kayseri, Turkey, 38080. [https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.6-1-5](https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.6-1-5) doi=10.30958/aje.6-1-5 Vol. 6, No. 1 Bengü: Application of Team-Based Learning at a Health Science… authoritative culture (Tatar 2005; Yıldırım 2006; Topbaş 2013). Turkish higher education is highly teacher-centered, where teachers do not expect to be questioned or criticized and students are not expected to speak up in the classroom (Tatar 2005; Yıldırım 2006; Topbas 2013) According to the results of Bidabadi, Isfahani, Rouhollahi, and Khalili (2016) and Michaelsen, Parmelee, McMahon and Levine (2008), one of the best teaching approaches for higher education is the mixed method, which involves combining the student-centered method with the teacher-centered one. During the search for an approach that combines the student-centered method with the teacher-centered one, the researcher found team-based learning (TBL) as an attractive option. In TBL, students take initiative in their learning process, as opposed to the traditional teaching method, where students are passive learners. In this method, teachers still play an important role, in which they act

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the study?

To identify students’ reactions to implementing team-based learning in a pharmacology course in a Turkish university.

How does team-based learning differ from traditional lecturing?

TBL encourages active learning through individual effort plus team involvement, whereas traditional lecturing often positions students as passive learners.

Why does the article discuss cultural factors like power distance?

Because Turkey is described as having a high power distance culture, which can shape how students and instructors view teaching and learning and affects classroom interaction expectations.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Mimi