Performance and perception of the first year medical students about the team based learning in Anatomy

Back ground and Aim: Team based learning (TBL) possibly relies on student centered small group interaction more heavily than any other commonly used instructional strategy. It is being adapted in medical education to implement interactive small group learning. Present study was done to explore the perception and performance about TBL in teaching Anatomy. Materials and Methods: This study involved a group of seventy first year MBBS students of RAK Medical and Health Sciences University, Ras Al Khaimah UAE. TBL was conducted in a topic of Anatomy as per the standard protocol that includes pre class study, readiness assurance followed by application of course content by small group discussion. Perception of TBL was determined by administering the eight items questionnaire and performance was analyzed by their scores in individual and group readiness assurance test and in course assessment scores. Result: About 68.5% of students were able to learn and understand the topic effectively through TBL method. 73% students felt, interaction among the group members helped them to understand the course content better. About 62% were of the opinion that the lectures should be replaced with more and more TBL sessions in their teaching methodology. About 65% students were able to score well in the level 2 multiple choice questions in the in course assessment. Conclusion: in conclusion, TBL facilitated the group learning among the first year MBBS students and it can be substituted as one of the important mode of teaching along with other teaching methodologies.