Team based learning in online versus classroom environments

At the heart of all active learning is the quote "Tell me and I will forget, show me and I might remember, involve me and I will understand."  Since at least the mid-Twentieth century, economists have avoided purely “tell me”-type lectures in favor of a more “show me”-style of teaching.  We, as a discipline, love to demonstrate economic principles, whether with a graphical model, a numerical example or a real-world application.   Additionally, mastery of the discipline naturally involves not only content knowledge but significant critical thinking and problem solving skills, thus pedagogical techniques that encourage the development of such higher-order learning skills are well suited to the economics classroom.  Getting students actively involved in the learning process is critical in a field like ours.

With the growth of online instruction we have again had to rethink the model.  While fundamentally online learning involves active learning (as students cannot passively listen to lectures but of necessity must be actively involved in their own learning), it is also frequently individual learning (as students are separated physically from both the instructor and their classmates).  Technological advances and the development of new courseware platforms are increasingly allowing collaborative learning to take place in the online environment.

The present work describes the adaptation of the Team Based Learning (TBL) technique developed by Larry Michaelsen to the online principles of economics environment.  (For information about TBL, see Michaelsen, LK, Bauman Knight, A, and LD Fink. eds. 2002. Team-Based Learning, A Transformative Use of Small Groups in College Teaching. Sterling, VA: Stylus Pub.)  Technical adaptations and other hurdles are discussed and some comparison of learning outcomes with face-to-face TBL classes and non-TBL online classes are presented.