Team-based learning: a practical guide: AMEE guide no. 65

Team-based learning? (TBL) is an instructional strategy developed in the business school environment in the early 1990s by Dr Michaelsen who wanted the benefits of small group learning within large classes. In 2001, a US federal granting agency awarded funds for educators in the health sciences to learn about and implement the strategy in their educational programs; TBL was put forward as one such strategy and as a result it is used in over 60 US and international health science professional schools. TBL is very different from problem-based learning (PBL) and other small group approaches in that there is no need for multiple faculty or rooms, students must come prepared to sessions, and individual and small groups of students (teams) are highly accountable for their contributions to team productivity. The instructor must be a content-expert, but need not have any experience or expertise in group process to conduct a successful TBL session. Students do not need any specific instruction in teamwork since they learn how to be collaborative and productive in the process. TBL can replace or complement a lecture-based course or curriculum.     

Self-regulation theory: applications to medical education: AMEE Guide No. 58

Self-regulation theory, as applied to medical education, describes the cyclical control of academic and clinical performance through several key processes that include goal-directed behaviour, use of specific strategies to attain goals, and the adaptation and modification to behaviours or strategies to optimise learning and performance. Extensive research across a variety of non-medical disciplines has highlighted differences in key self-regulation processes between high- and low-achieving learners and performers. Structured identification of key self-regulation processes can be used to develop specific remediation approaches that can improve performance in academic and complex psycho-motor skills. General teaching approaches that are guided by a self-regulation perspective can also enhance academic performance. Self-regulation theory offers an exciting potential for improving academic and clinical performance in medical education.     

Communication skills: an essential component of medical curricula. Part I: Assessment of clinical communication: AMEE Guide No. 51

This AMEE Guide in Medical Education is Part 1 of a two part Guide covering the issues of Communication. This Guide has been written to provide guidance for those involved in planning the assessment of clinical communication and provides guidance and information relating to the assessment of various aspects of clinical communication; its underlying theory; its practical ability to show that an individual is competent and its relationship to students' daily performance. The advantages and disadvantages of assessing specific aspects of communication are also discussed. The Guide draws attention to the complexity of assessing the ability to communicate with patients and healthcare professionals, with issues of reliability and validity being highlighted for each aspect. Current debates within the area of clinical communication teaching are raised: when should the assessment of clinical communication occur in undergraduate medical education?; should clinical communication assessment be integrated with clinical skills assessment, or should the two be separate?; how important should the assessment of clinical communication be, and the question of possible failure of students if they are judged not competent in communication skills? It is the aim of the authors not only to provide a useful reference for those starting to develop their assessment processes, but also provide an opportunity for review and debate amongst those who already assess clinical communication within their curricula, and a resource for those who have a general interest in medical education who wish to learn more about communication skills assessment.