Team-based learning: an ethnicity-focused study on the perceptions of teamwork abilities of engineering students

ABSTRACT

A study into the influence of the team-based learning (TBL) model upon the perception of White, Asian and Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students about their peers’ teamwork abilities is addressed herein. A large cohort of final-year engineering students grouped into 24 diverse teams assessed their team’s peers after completing a 10-credit TBL module by means of a peer-assessment survey instrument that spanned the areas of individual performance, adjustment and support, and decision-making. No significant differences were found in perceived student adjustment and support across the different ethnicity groups. Nevertheless, despite TBL having been reported to promote innovative outcomes stemming from the social diversity characterising the teams, our findings suggest that the implementation of TBL per se may not be enough to enhance the significantly poorer perceived performance and decision-making skills of BME students when they work in teams.

KEYWORDS:

• Active learning
• Team-based learning
• TBL
• BAME
• inclusive pedagogies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

D. Beneroso

Daniel Beneroso is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Teaching and Learning in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at The University of Nottingham (UK). He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and has completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, awarded by the University of Nottingham in June 2019. Currently, he is one of the heads of education and student experience at the department. Daniel’s experience has been based on making complex engineering learning more accessible to young undergraduates and humanising their educational experience by bringing their social identities into action. Currently, Daniel is interested in promoting refreshed perspectives in the area of engineering education to catalyse the development of key-drivers for successful institutional engineering education leadership such as the deployment of global outlook & education, curriculum development or multidisciplinary learning through innovative and humanised learning experiences.

M. Erans

Maria Erans is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nottingham with a special interest in energy generation/utilisation, material science, and mechanical design. She has worked across several international institutions in Stuttgart (Germany), Naples (Italy), and Cranfield (UK). She is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) and has been supporting the implementation of active collaborative learning pedagogies at the University of Nottingham.