Teaming up against a passive lesson: how team-based learning enables participative professionals

There has been a trend in UK Higher Education for international students to shy away from contributing to seminars and lectures. Research suggests that this is for a range of reasons, including cultural and language barriers, as well as a general lack of awareness of this expectation (Bledsoe and Baskin, 2014; Gu and Schweisfurth, 2006; Turner, 2006). This study acknowledges a range of attempts to increase engagement, as well as exploring a new, dynamic approach with a cohort of students as part of a Masters programme in International Marketing. In order to prepare these students for their careers, it is imperative that they develop the appropriate social skills to succeed. Our research examines the pedagogical and practical considerations of evolving a traditional course towards a Team-Based Learning (TBL) model, including the use of current field-specific resources, a different environment and competition. This approach provides regular feedback to the tutor regarding the learners’ understanding, and is seen to enhance the students’ appreciation of decision-making through collaboration. As a result of this intervention, we have identified strategies which can be repurposed across a number of courses in order to increase international students’ contributions to seminar discussions. Student engagement and performance improved significantly with time taken to clarify the task alongside a shared goal for each group. However there is still scope to build on this further. We would like to share our experiences through practical demonstrations and compare approaches with colleagues from a range of perspectives and disciplines.