Team Learning: A Comprehensive Approach for Harnessing the Power of Small Groups in Higher Education

This paper describes Team Learning, a comprehensive, group-based instructional format that was originally developed to facilitate active learning in large classes, but has subsequently proven to be effective in a wide variety of instructional settings. The primary features of the approach include: 1) permanent and purposefully heterogeneous work groups; 2) grading based on a combination of individual performance, group performance, and peer evaluation; 3) a majority of the class time devoted to small group activities; and 4) a six-step instructional activity sequence that makes it possible to focus the majority of class time on helping students develop the ability to use concepts as opposed to simply learn about them. The author also compares Team Learning to other instructional approaches and discusses the use of group activities as a supplement to lectures.