Teaching Research to MSW Students: Effectiveness of the Team-based Learning Pedagogy

Abstract

Social work students often have been labeled as research-reluctant. Consequently, it is important to identify effective teaching strategies. One innovative strategy is team-based learning. The effectiveness of team-based learning has not yet been evaluated with a social work research class. As a result, the current study compared the effectiveness of team-based learning with that of other pedagogies. Findings suggest that team-based learning was not more effective than alternate pedagogies in increasing MSW students' intent to incorporate research into practice. Notably, the team-based learning approach was more effective in increasing research self-efficacy. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Keywords:

• social work
• research courses
• teaching strategy
• pedagogy
• team-based learning