A modified team-based learning methodology for effective delivery of an introductory programming course

This paper sheds the light on an attempt to use a pedagogy integrating Team-Based Learning (TBL) for effective learning and hands-on experience in an introductory programming course. We have adopted a modified version of TBL to study its effect on students learning and to examine how teams intra- and inter-team active interactions influence students' learning and grades. Therefore, the objectives of this work is to evaluate whether the proposed modified TBL methodology would or would not improve students' experience of in-class engagement and their attitude about the value of using teams for learning, compared with experiences students would have had in the traditional lecture format. We refer to this method as LTBL, Lectures and Team-Based Learning, since we added a short but essential teaching component. To explore the effectiveness of this learning pedagogy, we evaluated students' level of engagement and attitudes toward achieving course outcomes and the value of teamwork over four semesters. Our findings demonstrated that LTBL has a positive effect on the success rate and the achievement of learning outcomes.