Duke-NUS Medical School (DNUS) has been using Team-based Learning (TBL) (which they call TeamLEAD) as one of the instructional strategies to prepare its medical students for the future healthcare workforce since 2007. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, DNUS, like other institutions globally, had to switch to remote teaching in March 2020.
Using existing educational tools that support TBL specifically, such as InteDashboard, the DNUS faculty team found that it was relatively easy to adapt their TeamLEAD sessions to an online setting. With the maturation of video conferencing and online collaborative tools, the DNUS faculty team successfully revamped TeamLEAD sessions suited for an online environment (Jumat et al., 2020; Wong et al., 2020).
One of the InteDashboard features that the DNUS faculty team uses extensively for its TeamLEAD sessions is the Application feature. The Application feature preserves the 4S elements of TBL application, particularly the ability to reveal teams’ responses simultaneously in either Single Best Answer or Short Answer type of application questions. By enabling the facilitation screen function, faculty can easily share the screen while effectively facilitating online class discussions.
While Duke-NUS adapted to a completely online TeamLEAD, the DNUS Education team was eager to bring students back into the classroom to minimize the sense of isolation and support enhanced team development that only a face-to-face experience can provide. As the COVID-19 situation improved in Singapore halfway through the academic year, the team was able to bring students back to the classroom. However, due to social distancing requirements, DNUS could not accommodate the entire class in a single venue. Thus, DNUS began implementing a “hybrid” arrangement with the TeamLEAD sessions. The TeamLEAD sessions continued virtually using the same online tools and platform, while only half the class came on campus for their team readiness assurance tests and applications in person. The teams were on a rotation basis such that all students had an opportunity to engage with their teams in person every other week. Students welcomed this arrangement and could continue to build their team relationships.
Duke NUS Medical School continues to be a pioneer in providing innovative education solutions in preparing medical students for the future.
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