Effect of team-based learning on dental education in China: systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Team-based learning (TBL) is a student-centered and teacher-directed teaching strategy. In contrast to the traditional lecture-based learning (LBL), TBL is committed to promoting self-directed learning and teamwork among students. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literatures was performed to compare the teaching effects between TBL and LBL in dental students. Methods: Literature review was conducted from electronic databases including PubMed, Ovid, Web of science, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP and Wanfang Database up to January 12, 2020. Results: A total of 12 articles with 831 students were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that students in the TBL group performed better than those in the LBL group in terms of theoretical grades (SMD: 1.29, p=0.002, 95%CI: 0.46-2.13), case analysis (SMD: 2.50, p<0.05, 95%CI 1.44-3.55) and grades of practice ability (SMD: 1.90, p=0.002, 95%CI: 0.68-3.12). However, the results of each parameter followed a significantly high heterogeneity (I2=96%, 92%, 93%, respectively). The quality of included studies was mostly good. Conclusion: TBL might be more effective to increase the absorption of theoretical knowledge and improve the ability of case analysis and practice. More well-designed and rigorous studies are required to validate this conclusion.

摘要：
背景：基于团队的学习（Team-based learning, TBL）是一种以学生为中心、教师主导的教学策略。相较于传统的基于讲座的学习（Lecture-based learning, LBL），TBL致力于推动学生的自主学习与团队协作。本研究通过对现有文献开展系统回顾与荟萃分析，对比TBL与LBL在口腔医学生中的教学效果。
方法：本研究检索了截至2020年1月12日的PubMed、Ovid、Web of Science、Embase、中国知网（China National Knowledge Infrastructure, CNKI）、维普以及万方数据库等电子文献数据库，完成相关文献综述工作。
结果：本次荟萃分析共纳入12篇文献，涉及831名学生。结果显示，在理论成绩（标准化均数差SMD=1.29，p=0.002，95%置信区间：0.46~2.13）、病例分析能力（SMD=2.50，p<0.05，95%置信区间：1.44~3.55）以及实践能力评分（SMD=1.90，p=0.002，95%置信区间：0.68~3.12）方面，TBL组学生的表现均优于LBL组。但各评价指标均存在显著异质性（I²分别为96%、92%、93%），纳入研究的整体质量良好。
结论：TBL在提升学生理论知识吸收效果、强化病例分析与实践能力方面可能更具优势。未来仍需开展更多设计严谨、质量优良的研究以验证本研究结论。