Consensus and learning climate in temporary versus permanent teams in team-based learning

Clinical Snapshot

Key Findings

• P Value: Not reported in the abstract

• Effect Size: Not reported in the abstract; magnitude of differences in consensus rates and learning climate scores is unknown

• Primary Outcome: Discordant tRAT votes (indirect indicator of failure to reach team consensus) occurred more frequently in temporary teams than in permanent teams, for both correct and incorrect majority decisions. Self-rated learning climate was rated as more cooperative in permanent teams. Intrinsic motivation and tRAT scores were similar between groups.

• Nnt Or Sensitivity: Not applicable in standard form; 11.8% of all tRAT votes (268/~2,271) were discordant overall, but the between-group difference in discordant vote rates is not quantified with an effect measure in the abstract

• Confidence Interval: Not reported in the abstract

Clinical Application

Temporary team assignment is logistically straightforward and may reduce administrative burden associated with maintaining fixed team compositions across a semester. However, the observed reduction in cooperative learning climate suggests that additional facilitation strategies (e.g., structured team-building activities, explicit cooperative norms) would be required to optimise the temporary team model. Implementation would require faculty development and curriculum redesign. Australian medical schools increasingly use TBL as part of integrated preclinical curricula (e.g., University of Queensland, Monash University, University of Melbourne). The RACGP and AMC emphasise collaborative and interprofessional teamwork competencies as core graduate outcomes. The finding that temporary teams may prepare students for the reality of clinical workplace teams — where membership is rarely fixed — has direct relevance to Australian clinical training environments, including hospital rotations and general practice placements. However, the single-centre European origin of this study limits direct applicability without local replication. There are no PBS or TGA implications for this educational intervention study. Preclinical medical students enrolled in TBL-based curricula; potentially applicable to other health professional education programmes using TBL (nursing, pharmacy, allied health) with appropriate caution

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In team-based learning, students are typically placed in fixed teams based on the idea that stable group membership fosters collaboration: as teammates get to know each other, they share more information, resolve differences and feel motivated to contribute. This rationale had not been tested in a randomized controlled trial. OBJECTIVE: The study compares team-based learning in temporary teams with the default permanent teams regarding individual and team readiness assurance test performance (iRAT, tRAT), reaching team consensus, the learning climate, and intrinsic motivation. DESIGN: In a randomized controlled trial, first-year medical students were assigned either to permanent TBL teams or to teams that were re-assigned for each problem. The team readiness assurance test (tRAT) votes, submitted individually and covertly, served as an indirect indicator for team consensus (concordant versus discordant tRAT vote). RESULTS: Discordant tRATs (n = 268, 11.8% of all votes) were submitted more frequently in temporary than in permanent teams, both for correct and incorrect majority decisions. The self-rated learning climate was more cooperative in permanent than in temporary teams, while intrinsic motivation and tRAT scores were similar for both types of teams. A poorer learning climate was associated with a higher proportion of discordant tRATs. CONCLUSION: Working in temporary teams does not lead to inferior intrinsic motivation; this was previously also shown for knowledge gain. However, the poorer learning climate, together with reaching a consensus less often, might indicate that at least some members of temporary teams feel not adequately appreciated in the discussion and do not accept the majority decision. With instructional strategies promoting a cooperative learning climate in temporary teams, preclinical TBL courses might serve as an early promoter of the relational team competencies required for subsequent clinical workplace learning in temporary teams.

References

1. 1.Wagner-Menghin, M., Heber, S., Volf, I., Marz, R., & Fischer, M. J. M. (2026). Consensus and learning climate in temporary versus permanent teams in team-based learning. Medical Education Online. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2026.2694189