March 24, 2014
Dr. Barry Bleske, Associate Professor of Pharmacy, U-M College of Pharmacy, and Clinical Pharmacist, U-M Health System

Congratulations to Dr. Barry Bleske, PharmD, and his team for receiving an Investigating Student Learning Grant from the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT). The title of their proposal is “Randomized Comparison between Team Based Learning (TBL) and Standard Lecture Format on Learning Outcomes".

The awarding of this grant will allow investigation into the effectiveness of team-based learning (TBL) in a rigorous construct. Specifically, Dr. Bleske and his team will be conducting a randomized crossover trial evaluating short and long term learning outcomes comparing TBL to lecture in an elective course focusing on novel therapeutic topics.

“The College of Pharmacy is seen as a leader in TBL, and projects like this one are one of the reasons why,” states Associate Dean Bruce Mueller.

This grant will allow us to not only conduct an important curriculum assessment project for the College but will also contribute significantly to the educational literature. The College has been active in publishing around our TBL experience.  Since implementing TBL, we have published one article and have another article in submission (shown below). Completion of the current project will be our third submitted article in a relatively short time period regarding TBL.

Published Article:
Bleske BE, Remington TL, Wells TD, Dorsch MP, Guthrie SK, Stumpf JL, Alaniz MC, Ellingrod VL, Tingen JM.  Comparing team based learning to traditional lecture on learning outcomes in a therapeutics course sequence.  Am J Pharm Educ. 2014 Feb 12;78(1):13. doi: 10.5688/ajpe78113

Article in Submission:
Remington TL, Hershock C, Klein KC, Niemer RK, Bleske BE.  Lessons from the Trenches:  Implementing Team-Based Learning Across Several Courses.  Submitted to Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning

In addition, our faculty have been asked to speak at other Pharmacy schools regarding TBL, and we have hosted other faculty members both within and outside the University of Michigan to observe our TBL process. 

“Our faculty are working hard to provide an outstanding learning environment for our students, and team-based learning is a key part to that environment,” ends Dr. Bleske, associate professor of pharmacy.

To date, there are very limited data directly comparing these two pedagogies, especially, incorporating a prospective crossover trial design. The faculty involved in the project include: Tami Remington, Vicki Ellingrod, Jeffrey Tingen, Trisha Wells, Sally Guthrie, and Michael Dorsch.

Learn more about the College's team-based learning curriculum.
Read more about the Investigating Student Learning Grant.