June 2025 – Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Camosun Story #111: Bob and Team-Based Learning

Bob is a faculty member in the School of Business. I first spoke to him back in 2021 about his experiences moving online during COVID, but recently I found out he has been embracing Team-Based Learning (TBL), and I wanted to find out more about his experience. “I had a conversation with Derek Murray in passing about student engagement and preparedness prompting me to take CETL’s Improving Student Engagement workshop last spring, which gave me a good overview of TBL.” After taking the workshop and reading Getting Started with Team-Based Learning, Bob was intrigued, curious to learn more, and to build TBL into his course over his Scheduled Development time. So, “in August that same year I took the TBL course through Vancouver Island University.” Bob was initially skeptical about the structured methodology of TBL, but after taking the TBL course learned that “you can decide how you want to use the structure in your context, but like, many things in life, you have to trust the process, so I did.”

As Bob worked his way through the course, the method began to resonate him. “The idea was to spend our class time on activities that allow students to apply what they’ve learned and make sense of it from each other. This means students are processing information in a different way from just listening to a lecture. But I was still wondering how to ensure that students would learn what they needed to learn to meet the course learning objectives.” Bob was also not convinced that components of the TBL structure would work for some of his courses. “For example, one TBL element is to give students a module test on the first day of that module. But if the module covers three chapters, and students are tested on all three chapters before coming to the first class, I am not confident that the students will come prepared. But I had an aha moment learning it was ok to, after learning the whole process, abandon those parts of the process that won’t work for your context.” But Bob told me he tried to hold onto as much of the full method as he could the first time around because “when the TBL group talks about the success stories from the classroom, those are real!”

I wondered what specifically happens in Bob’s classrooms when he’s teaching with TBL. “I follow the script, sometimes begrudgingly – TBL can take time out of your class in that students are not always working on content but developing how they’re going to be with each other. But the more effort you put in upfront to help students build comfort and trust with each other in their groups, the more engaged they will be. I spend a lot of time right up front explaining what TBL, or decision based learning as I prefer to call it, is: where students are working to come together on a decision about what they are going to do to move forward. And I explain why they will be working with the same people for the whole term. So, in the first class we don’t talk about the course at all.”

To set students up in groups, Bob first has them self-select into groups of six and discuss what they think they need in order to be successful in a team. “They decide on the range of abilities, knowledge, backgrounds, that need to be at the table so they can be successful at solving problems related to the course content, not just about how to be successful on a team. Each group comes up with their own list, then as a class, we work together to select the one thing that will inform the final group selection for the term. And that’s the first day.” One of the other activities recommended for a first TBL class is to run a practice iRAT (individual Readiness Assessment Test) / tRAT (team Readiness Assessment Test) about the syllabus. “I have never been able to get that done in the first class, so I move it to the second class, and then they go from that right into a real quiz. Because the first one is just for practice, they can have fun with it, and it destresses the real one.” After that, Bob runs the iRAT / tRAT during the first class of a module for the first chapter of the module, and students then complete quizzes on the other two chapters in D2L before each class. “Later, I can find the one or two questions students struggled with, and bring those to class, show the right answer and give them an opportunity to challenge that answer if they don’t agree with it.”

The TBL model also includes peer assessments, which Bob finds challenging. “In my classes, students individually identify five helping behaviours that they think will help their peers be successful. They then share those behaviours with their group and collectively, the group decides on their top five which they put on big yellow sticky notes.” Each group selects one person to represent them, and Bob brings those students into what he calls a Council of Six (since there are six groups) who explain their groups’ choices to each other. Finally, that group of six identifies a minimum of five helping behaviors for the class to be assessed by. However, Bob finds that, invariably, these behaviours chosen by the Council are not ready to be used by the class. “So, the Council works outside of class (for bonus points) to clarify their list. The first term, it took three weeks to get it done, but the second term it only took two weeks.” And while the end result might not be the ‘ideal’ peer review process, it’s the one the students’ chose. Bob includes two formative peer reviews in his classes (in weeks six and ten), giving students a chance to change their behaviour, as well as a summative one in week 14.

Once the preliminaries are all out of the way, Bob can dig into content. “I don’t follow the TBL approach completely. I’ll do a 15-20 minute mini lecture, which is really a reminder of the key concepts they’ve already reviewed, then we’ll take a break. Then we do two to three 4-S activities (Significant, Specific, Same, Simultaneous) in the last part of the class. I have them do an individual reflection on whatever the question is and write it out. I have them put their name on it, and sometimes I’ll select one or two in each class for them to turn in. I mark those not for being technically correct, but for being logical, showing their thought process, and demonstrating their familiarity with the content.” And these in-class activities become a part of the course grade, “generally 15 to 20%, which gives students some incentive to come to class, and which also which makes the learning process that much better.” Another reason Bob has students write down their reflections is that he can more easily see who is struggling. “I can then ask them why they think they are unable to answer the question, how did they prepare for class, did they understand the reading, or is did they not have time to complete the reading (in which case we may need to talk about time management.)”

Then students share their reflections with their group which “provokes a lot of cross-table discussion that is superior to a normal class group discussion because they’ve already set out their views, are accountable, and have to defend them, as opposed to just going along with the most dominant voice at the table.” Then the groups share their consensus with the class, trying to convince other groups to change their positions. “Generally, they don’t convince anybody, but sometimes you do hear: You know what? I never thought of that. I was really entrenched in my position here, but after listening to you, I think I’m wrong. And that is cool to hear.”

In Bob’s Business 322 course, all those reflections and discussions support students in completing their two assignments, the first of which is a proposal for how they are going to approach the second. “At the end of each module, they write a short paper about one takeaway from each of the chapters we’ve covered explaining why it stood out to them and how it has influenced their approach to their project. At the end, in addition to the major project, they write a reflection paper about the overall key takeaways from the course and how they will use those once the course is completed. So, everything connects, and they can see that.

I wondered what Bob’s thoughts were on how TBL influences student learning. “You can see students building relationships with people they wouldn’t normally have built relationships with. And at their tables, they have more time to reflect. I talk to them about how some people need time to formulate their thoughts, especially if someone is translating from English to their first language, formulating an answer in and then translating back to English. So, I think compared to other classes, students who maybe would be less forthcoming with their thoughts or ideas about things are more readily able to share them.” Bob tells me he is also excited by the engagement in the class. “The enthusiasm in the class is contagious. When students are having their conversations, they are wholly engaged. They’re talking to their peers about the content that they’ve digested and convincing each other of what’s true or not true or what could be or what shouldn’t be.”

As to what students say, “I haven’t asked for formal feedback, but anecdotally, students tell me that they’re enjoying the engagement. They also like that everyone is coming to class prepared. They tell me that time goes by so fast because they’re engaged in what they’re doing, and they love not listening to me.” And Bob is transparent with the students about the approach. “One of the things we do in the first class is set the stage for why we’re taking this approach. We walk them through a series of questions, for example: What can you do on your own (for example reading a lecture or watching a video)? What can you do with others (the conversation piece)? What is best to be done in the classroom? Then they understand why we carve off time for TBL in the classroom.”

I asked Bob what is next for him for TBL. “I’m working on Business 220 (Organizational Behavior) now. Another instructor has already been using TBL in that class, and it’s working really well. And I’ll also redesign Business 150, which is more of a survey course so it may more of a challenge. What’s exciting for me about those courses in particular is that they’re lower level – every School of Business student has to take it.” Meaning that students can be introduced to this engaged method of learning early. Another course Bob is weaving TBL into, working with another faculty member, is Business 311 (Employment Law). “I’m doing a TBL light in that course this term. Students are assigned to groups, and we do in-class activities without the formal structure of TBL which gives them an opportunity to process things with each other, rather than just waiting until their first exam to see how they are doing” Bob told me he is struggling with Business 290. “That class takes place in a computer lab and physical space is an important consideration for TBL since people need to move around. They will find a way, but it’s better if you can make it easy for them.” Reflecting back to how his classes were before, Bob says “students were engaged, but I wonder: were they really learning?” Instead of processing information individually, “now they sit with five other people engaging with discussion questions and amplifying their own knowledge with different approaches and aha moments which is just cool to watch.”

After such an amazing conversation about Bob’s work with TBL, I wondered what advice he might have for other instructors wanting to try it out. “Trust the process. Be cautious but have an open mind. Plan for planning – TBL involves a lot of prep, but each successive delivery is a bit less. And the first time you integrate TBL, learn about it as early as possible and work with it from the beginning of whatever course you’re developing, rather than integrating TBL while you are teaching the course. I would advise people to script out the timing of TBL class activities. For example, I plan for five minutes of reflection, then 10 minutes of table conversation. Part of TBL is putting the pressure on students to make a decision, so it lends itself to being timed. I have two or three pages of notes for every timed activity, and I will take notes in real time, if the timing is off, what happened so I can adjust next time.” In addition, Bob advises flexibility. “Not every class has to fit into a nice, neat box.” But the biggest note Bob has for new TBL instructors is to let go. “In traditional classrooms, students look to you to provide the answers but, in this approach, they need to look to themselves. And if they don’t have the answer, they need to find it as opposed to having handed to them. And your role is to ask questions more than making statements.”

And finally, Bob says, “follow the step-by-step TBL script at least once so you can see the benefits, then you can figure out what works for you. If you take shortcuts too early, you might miss some opportunities to see how things can work. It’s all time consuming, but it pays off and you will be surprised with the outcomes.”

In the end, Bob says it’s important not to start from a position of “no.” “I look at each course and ask myself how I could make it TBL versus wondering which ones could or couldn’t be TBL. In fact, I’m confident that most of the courses in the Management and Human Resource Leadership program could be moved to TBL. At the end of the day, anyone can make TBL fit with their personal teaching style because it’s all about how we can support students to engage with the content and each other so they can apply what they’re learning.”

Camosun Story #110: Artemis

Artemis identifies as a Métis educator. “Camosun is the fourth post-secondary institution I’ve worked for and the one I’ve been at the longest. I started with the Community, Family, and Child Studies (CFCS) department in 2015, teaching a social justice course, which is one of my passions.” Eventually, Artemis became a fulltime continuing faculty member, then a new opportunity opened when Faye Martin, the Indigenous Support Coordinator, for what was then the School of Health and Human Services (HHS), retired. “I was asked to apply for her position, and I first said no because I was so inspired by Faye and was not sure I could offer what she had brought to the role. But I was asked again, by someone I respect, so I asked them to tell me why they thought I could do the job and what they would want me to do. Then a co-worked told me ‘You don’t have to be Faye; you just have to be you.’ I sat with all of those thoughts and prayed on it and then decided to apply.” Looking back, Artemis told me she is grateful she took on that role because it’s been an opportunity to pursue some institutional change. “Part of my role was to identify and reduce systemic barriers for Indigenous students, which, of course, reduces them for all students. That’s not easy work, but I enjoyed being able to do that.” Artemis says that one of the reasons she came to Camosun and has stayed here, is that the college has been a bit farther ahead of other institutions in terms of Indigenization. “The other part that’s great about being at Camosun is that most people who work here share similar values to me as well as the values posted on our website. And that collective passion for education is important to me.”

I asked Artemis what she enjoys most about working with students, both in teaching and in the Indigenous Support Coordinator role. “One thing that’s important to me is being able to support folks experiencing marginalization to feel empowered and to actualize their goals. That’s foundational for community colleges – they’re built on an empowerment model. They’re built on accessibility, inclusion, diversity, which is important to me. Part of the magic for me happens when I work with folks who experience barriers to success in their education, and I walk with them from where they start, to where they finish, whatever success looks like for them. It doesn’t necessarily mean they get a credential, but it might mean they’ve accomplished something that’s been really meaningful for them. I love when a student says to me, I never thought I could pass a college course, but I got an A.” Then there are what Artemis calls ‘popcorn moments.’ “That’s when I’m offering a new concept to a group of students, and they move from not knowing what I’m talking about to the moment where they shift and the lights go on. And when that happens, in my ears, I hear a sound like popcorn popping.” Finally, Artemis also loves that in her Indigeous Support Coordinator role she worked with many people from across the college.

Another aspect of working at the college Artemis enjoys is the opportunity for creativity. “Creativity in terms of how I teach, the materials I use, the kinds of assessments I use. Even the way I think about curriculum development, which is another one of my passions.” Creativity to Artemis also means looking at accessibility for students, for example, options for assessment. “I try to have at least one assignment in each course I teach, where students can either show me their learning in writing, or they can show me their learning through an expressive form of creativity that they choose. I’ve had songs written in my classes, poems, photo essays, paintings.” Artemis believes that this opportunity to be creative has a positive impact on how students bring themselves to class. “They’re also great to mark, and I also need to be creative in how I mark to be fair to the different forms of assessment, but this is one of the ways we can decolonize the colonial education framework that we work in.”

As well, Artemis says, “I think there are moments in assessment where it’s important to check each individual student’s capacity and awareness and learning, but there are also times where we can do group assessment. Students don’t love group projects, but particularly in my program’s field of work, group learning is so important because they need to learn how to work on teams.” Artemis has been exploring some ways to encourage teamwork. “Right before COVID, I gave a quiz, only worth maybe 10% of the grade, where students worked in groups at tables. I placed each student in their groups, being thoughtful about the range of capacities in each group, including capacities for the knowledge and capacities for art.” This particular test used to be multiple choice and short answer, but Artemis converted it into a group art project. “The whole class was assigned the same question, as a summation of what they learned in the course, specifically around supporting communities. I spread art supplies all over the room, and students choose what kind they wanted to use. They could write, if they wanted to use words, but they could also paint, draw, use pipe cleaners. And it was really beautiful to see their work. And what I saw in those groups was what I had hoped for: that the ones who still needed to learn these important concepts learned it through this group assessment activity.” Artemis told me that not only was it the first time an entire class left a test with big smiles on their faces, but she also saw people shine in different ways through their gifts. “They all contributed to the end result, and I could see how each of them shared their gift in the final outcomes. They all did great work and their grades for that assignment ranged from B’s to A’s, but the big wins were bringing creativity into assessment and making sure everyone left the course with what they needed.” Artemis also mentioned that she is herself an artist, and is currently studying expressive arts therapy, “combining my background in social work – human support, supporting people and communities – with art. And in the process of studying with art therapy educators, I’m learning how to bring art to education.”

Hearing this, I was reminded of the story Diane shared about the Self-Care Café, and I asked Artemis about her reflections on that work. “I’ve seen an incredible benefit for students and employees who stop by for the wellness that comes with that connection and the experience of having an opportunity to breathe for a minute. We need that space to recharge. The Café is now shifting to being led by students, who are excited because they’ve experienced it and know how beneficial it is. I also love to see that they do different arts and crafts, and that there are always lots of choices to do a little of this or a little of that or neither or both; offering choices is part of a trauma-informed approach.”

The importance of giving people space to breathe resonated with me and I asked Artemis if she had more thoughts about that. “As instructors, we are aware of the level of mental health challenges young people are experiencing, not surprising given the world that they’ve inherited, and I think the old way of doing education contributes to these challenges. There are so many opportunities for us to do things in a way that supports their wellness, including considering how many assignments we give them. One of the first courses I taught had 18 assignments. We are getting better at assessing learning outcomes more efficiently which contributes to student wellness.” Artemis also has a colleague who brings play into the learning space. “She has a gift to take a really dry subject that’s difficult to comprehend and turn it into play, so the students are laughing and having fun. I love that we can engage in learning with students in new, creative, and effective ways.”

While at of the time of writing this story, the position of Indigenous Support Coordinator in HHS had been eliminated, Artemis is hopeful that the work will continue through the Centre for Indigenous Education & Community Connections. In that role as Indigenous Support Coordinator, Artemis supported Indigenous applicants into HHS programs. “I was often their first contact for information on upgrading, etc., but I also helped them with confirming their Indigenous identity with the college. This is a sensitive area to work in and one we wish we didn’t have to do, because confirming identity can be difficult, because colonization has strategically found ways to disconnect people from who they are, from their families, from their lands, and from their nations.” Artemis also supported Indigenous students in HHS programs, the biggest group being in nursing. “There are 25 seats set aside for Indigenous students in the three nursing programs to increase the number of nurses who could support their own communities, other Indigenous communities, and communities in general.” Artemis emphasized that there is a great need for more Indigenous employees in all health and human services, so there are 12.5% of all seats across all HHS [now Health Sciences and Human Services – HSHS] programs set aside for Indigenous students. And since by fall 2025 HSHS will have 21 programs, there will be over 100 Indigenous students in HSHS. “I offer support for those students once they’re in the programs, and they can come to me with whatever they need. I either connect them with someone who offers that in the college or I support them myself. We will navigate experiences of racism, sometimes in classroom and sometimes that happens in community learning settings. I do my best to support them through the experience and help them respond in the way that they can feel heard.” Artemis also looks at the bigger picture. “If this is happening in the classroom, is there a way we can make changes to prevent that from happening in the future? That might be through employee education, classroom guidelines that students agree to, etc.” Another part of the work involves helping with curriculum development, exploring Indigenizing and decolonizing ways of teaching in the classroom, as well as examining how student supports can sometimes unintentionally do harm. “We’ve been looking at forms and processes and approaches, sometimes creating new ones, and sometimes talking through things as a team. It’s a big learning curve for some people, and our job as educators is to listen and take responsibility for engaging in learning outside of those conversations. Sometimes people think that students should be the one to explain what they need in terms of Indigenizing or decolonizing, but that’s not their job – we need to do that for each other.” And as a result of the realization that we needed to focus more on Indigenization and decolonizing as a college, Natasha Parrish and Artemis started the Anti-Racism and Decolonization Action Committee at the college. “That’s been really a great experience, not only because it brings like-minded folks together to support each other, to learn from each other, to inspire each other, but also because we’ve engaged in projects that have made some difference in the college.”

Finally, as the Indigenous Support Coordinator, Artemis offered learning circles focused on the program area of the class she was visiting. “Learning circles are Indigenous pedagogy, or Indigegogy. They are opportunities for everybody, me, the instructor, and all the students to sit together, learn with each other, and share with each other. We usually start by introducing ourselves in a cultural way, which includes one’s family’s cultural or ethnic identity. Everyone takes turns speaking and everyone listens so that instead of sharing from our minds, we’re invited to share from our hearts. After introductions, we’ll have some sharing about a topic as it relates to the students’ field of study, for example colonization, the Indian Act, trauma-informed approaches to working with people, diversity, and Indigenous identities. And because I work in health sciences and human services, we often talk about healing and wellness and medicines as well.” Artemis is hoping she can still engage in learning circles in HSHS even as she moves back to a teaching role.

I asked Artemis what memories she could share from her years at Camosun. “There are so many like the Pit cooks and the Orange Shirt Day ceremonies. Every year in September, there’s a new student welcome for Indigenous students that includes an uplifting ceremony. The Indigenous student awards is also an uplifting and amazing experience. Also, anytime I get to sit in a classroom with an Old One (Elder) and all the experiences we have on the land with the knowledge keepers and the old ones – those are really good moments.”

As our conversation came to an end, I asked Artemis what advice she might have for new faculty coming to Camosun. “Know that there’s more room for creativity and doing things differently than you might imagine. And if you can find a mentor, that really helps, especially with unraveling the mystery of Scheduled Development. Having boundaries is critically important, and it’s okay to say no to some things, even though that can be hard when you’re on probation. Find ways to connect and build relationships with people even outside of your department and school. And remember that the Indigenous student centers of Eyēʔ Sqȃ’lewen are open spaces, and people are always welcome to come and connect with Indigenous students and employees at the college.”

Artemis had some final thoughts for us all to consider. “First, we’ve done some really good work around Indigenization and decolonization at the college, but we need to go beyond course content. I would like to see us working to Indigenize and decolonize our policies and procedures, departments, leadership, governance, all of it. And finally, if you have passion for something and you see a need for it, there’s so much opportunity for anyone at the college to shine in their own leadership – to start something, create something, connect with like-minded people, to just do it. We often think there are far more limitations on what we can do than there actually are, and in fact, the sky’s the limit.”