Team-Based Learning : A Design - Based Research for Business Education in a Private University in Sarawak

• Main Author: Ki, Yen Ping
• Format: Thesis
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: LB Theory and practice of education; LC Special aspects of education
• Online Access: http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/1221/1/library-document-1221.xps; http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/1221/2/library-document-1221.pdf; http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/1221/
• Institution: Open University Malaysia

Team-Based Learning (TBL) is a student-centred learning approach that is effective to improve students’ learning outcomes, knowledge, and higher-order thinking skills by pro- moting active learning in teams, which are strongly required for business education. There is evidence of improved student learning with TBL, but research on the strategies to im- prove business student learning with the implementation of TBL and descriptions on how does TBL affect learning outcomes among business students are still ambiguous. There- fore, this study was designed to gain knowledge and understanding of the implementation of TBL in business education in a private university in Sarawak. The purpose of this design-based research is to design and develop a TBL learning environment for business students in higher education and evaluate the approach to examine the students’ percep- tion towards TBL and teamwork. Specifically, this study determined the instructional needs of the business students and examined the elements and strategies to improve the TBL activities for business students based on their instructional needs. Finally, the TBL approach was evaluated to determine the students’ perception towards TBL and whether TBL could improve learning outcomes. This study is divided into three phases that are derived from the KEMP’s Model. The three phases are the needs analysis phase, the de- sign and development phase, and the implementation and evaluation phases. Mixed meth- ods were used for data collection among thirty business students and two instructors from a private university in Sarawak. The data collected from the interviews in the needs analysis phase intended to investigate the current instructional issues faced by six business students and two instructors. The findings from the needs analysis and data collected from the semi-structured interviews and an online survey during the design and development phase provided an overview of the elements and strategies needed for the design of the TBL environment from both students and instructors’ perspectives. Finally, data was collected from thirty students during pre and post-implementation surveys using the Evaluation of Team-Based Learning Questionnaire during the evaluation phase. The results of this study found that the current instructional issues faced by the business stu- dents are lack of interactivity, lack of learning skills, insufficient practical exposure, and personal efforts issues. The findings also indicate that TBL activities can be improved based on the four phases of TBL, namely Pre-Class Preparation, Individual Readiness Assurance Process (I-RAP) Test, Team Readiness Assurance Process (T-RAP) Test, and Application Exercises. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) found in the students’ perception towards TBL and teamwork after the implementation of the learning approach. There was also no significant relationship (p>0.05) between the students’ perception to- wards TBL and their learning outcomes. However, the students’ perception towards TBL and teamwork were good. This would indicate that the business students positively per- ceived TBL, and their test scores seemed to have improved with the implementation of TBL. Further studies could be conducted to determine whether TBL was effective for different courses in business education as well as in other subject areas. (Abstract by Author)