European secondary students perceive benefits to learning with team-based learning

This paper examines secondary school students’ experiences with Team-Based Learning (TBL) in Ireland, Spain, and the UK. In TBL, an active learning method, students work in small teams on collaborative, applied exercises. The Erasmus-funded TALENT Project trained 23 secondary teachers in Fundamentals of TBL. Two hundred forty-seven of their students completed a survey about their TBL experiences. Most (71%) preferred TBL to traditional lectures, though some disliked how others’ performance could affect individual grades. Positive responses indicate benefits of TBL in secondary education including: (1) increased student engagement and active participation; (2) enhanced quality of learning, including critical thinking and content comprehension; and (3) increased skills development through collaborative learning activities. These findings align with existing research on TBL in higher education and early studies in secondary education. The authors recommend further research and promotion of TBL in secondary education due to its benefits for student engagement, learning quality, and skills development.