The effect of repeated online Team-Based Learning on undergraduate nursing students: a quasi-experimental study

Background: Little is known about how students’ experiences with online Team-Based Learning (TBL) may have changed over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aims: to examine the performance of undergraduate nursing students in online TBL; to evaluate the change in students’ attitudes about teamwork and their accountability, preference and satisfaction with online TBL between 1st and 2nd year. Methods: A one-group pretest-posttest design was used. A cohort of thirty-three undergraduate nursing students attended online TBL sessions during 1st and 2nd year. Students’ performance in individual versus team readiness assurance tests in 2nd-year online TBL sessions was compared. Results from a structured questionnaire on students’ attitudes about teamwork and from the Team-Based Learning Student Assessment Instrument (TBL-SAI) were collected at different time points. Results: A statistically significant improvement was identified in students’ performance and in the categories “Overall satisfaction with Team Experience” and “Team Impact on Clinical Reasoning Ability” of the structured questionnaire. T-test of TBL-SAI mean scores showed no statistical significance. Conclusions: In repeated online TBL, teamwork increased students’ satisfaction and clinical reasoning ability. Group performance was higher than individual results. Students’ accountability, preference and satisfaction with online TBL remained high.