calendar March 12, 2025, 11:00 AM EDT

Managing Cognitive Load in Team-Based Learning

Discover how cognitive-load theory enhances TBL design for optimal student learning and retention.

Cognitive Load - Inner Cognitive Load - Inner

About this event

In this webinar, we’ll cover the basic concepts of cognitive-load theory and how they can inform the development of TBL modules that optimize student mastery of content, reasoning and retention.

Participants will examine the three types of cognitive load (intrinsic, extraneous, and germane) and discuss how to design TBL sessions that enhance learning efficiency while minimizing cognitive overload. While the examples are based on health-professions courses, the concepts are widely applicable to faculty and trainers in any discipline or program.

Learning objectives

By the end of this online workshop, participants should be able to:

  • Understand the principles of Cognitive Load Theory (CLT).
  • Differentiate between intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive loads.
  • Apply solutions to reduce extraneous cognitive load, manage intrinsic cognitive load, and increase germane cognitive load in TBL.

Who this is for

Faculty and trainers in any discipline currently or planning to design and/or deliver sessions using TBL.

Primary goal

To reduce extraneous cognitive load, manage intrinsic cognitive load and increase the germane cognitive load of the content delivered in TBL sessions.

Online Events Details

Chicago

Chicago

calendar-1 March 12, 10:00 AM CST
New York

New York

calendar March 12, 11:00 AM EST
London

London

calendar-2 March 12, 3:00 PM GMT
Singapore

Singapore

calendar-3 March 12, 11:00 PM SGT

About the facilitators

Dr. Gustavo Patino

Dr. Patino obtained his MD and was a neurology resident in his home country of Colombia. He pursued graduate studies and postdoctoral training in neuroscience at the University of Michigan, after which he has been a medical educator for the past 15 years. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Medical Education and the associate dean for undergraduate medical education at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine. Dr. Patino is a certified TBL consultant and an assistant editor of the Academic Medicine journal.

 

 

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Dr. Maria Sheakley

Dr. Maria Sheakley is the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and a Professor of Physiology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed). As a founding faculty member, she has played a key role in designing and implementing WMed’s integrated organ-system curriculum, which is centred around Team-Based Learning (TBL). As a certified Trainer-Consultant for TBL since 2016, Dr. Sheakley has led numerous faculty development workshops on TBL at WMed and at other medical schools. She is dedicated to advancing medical education and supporting the professional development of medical educators nationally and internationally.

 

 

 

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Looking to attend any other workshop?

What our workshop participants say

What our workshop participants say

I work in the administration with tasks like adapting the syllabus to the teaching and assessment so it is very valuable to understand how TBL works in real life to be able to transform it to a legal language.

Carolina Carneck

Karolinska Institute, Administrative Officer

Being on the learner side, exploring how learners would utilize the platform were the most valuable aspect of the workshop.

Shikara Poblete

University of Santo Tomas, Faculty - Civil Engineering

Learning from the students' perspective is the most valuable aspect of these TBL-styled workshops.

Holly Turula

Western Michigan University, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Science

This was valuable to me as a refresher since I have not tried to run an online TBL since spring 2020. It was also valuable to network with people from other institutions and hear how they are using TBL in their curriculum.

Rachel Hopkins

SUNY Upstate Medical University, Associate Professor, Medicine

We have been doing TBL for a number of years and I think these workshops gave us a better idea of what we are doing right, what we are doing wrong, as well as just raising our game in general. Also, we put together our TBL sessions in an ad hoc manner, but having tutors that have done hundreds of these sessions discuss the reasoning behind the way they do things gave me a lot to think about. We formally focused on the mechanics of running TBL rather than just trying to "put together a case". It just feels more structured and focused now than it did before the workshop.

Ronald Mackenzie, PhD

Texas McGovern Medical Center, Assistant Professor, Research

Very well organized workshop, covered many questions about how online TBL works, emphasized issues/problems in moving online

Kevin Krane

Tulane University, Vice Deam Professor, Academic Affairs Medicine

I enjoyed the workshop thoroughly - getting to experience online TBL as a participant, getting helpful tips on facilitation, getting to ask questions about things I had wondered about. Learning that facilitating can work better if you address particular teams was transformative.

Tessa Milman

University of Southern California, Assistant Professor, Clinical Occupational Therapy

Getting to work closely with experts in all different fields, getting the opportunity to hear from persons from all different backgrounds and expertise. The variety fo guest facilitators were also great.

Stephanie Date

Ross University, Instructor Medical Foundations

It was straightforward, and it led me to believe that I can easily do TBL in online modality.

Martha Mansah

Griffith University, Lecturer, Nursing

The idea that TBL can be done online finds me in awe since we have been doing it in-person and online TBL is much easier from a students' perspective!

Michael Busa

University of Massachusetts Amherst, Director, Center for Human Health & Performance

All aspects of the workshop were valuable. I learned things ouside of the curriculum; appreciation of others viewpoints, to keep an open mind to different techniques, to let others voice their views and speak.

Ian Murray

Texas A&M University, Instructional Associate Professor, Physiology

While I was already familiar with TBL, this workshop really helped me visualize how to move it online. It was very helpful to see how it was moderated. I gained a great deal from the discussions with the others. It was good to review the core principles.

Neal Carter

Brigham Young University - Idaho, Professor, Political Science

I loved the workshop - all of it! Probably most valuable was experiencing first hand how it all works together in the online environment. Besides that, learning about constructing MCQs and how to construct an effective TBL module were most useful.

Fiona Denney

Brunel University London Brunel Business School, Professor, Business Education

Great example of the introduction and how to prep participants on what was going to happen and how and when. Very helpful to see the breakout sessions along with the full group interaction. Also a nice demonstration of how to handle incoming comments and questions from the participants.

Kristin Gosselink

Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, Associate Professor, Physiology & Pathology

I value that I was able to come away visualizing how I could implement TBL in an online environment.

Dana Wanzer

University of Wisconsin-Stout, Assistant Professor, Psychology

Team-Based Learning Fundamentals Series turned out to be a great learning experience for me. The series illustrated how the prework and participation in the process leads to greater understanding and retention. I've had some experience with TBL in the past, however, learning from these experts with years of experience brought my understanding, and hopefully skills, to another level altogether.

Miriam Feuerman, PhD

SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Associate Professor

I wanted to thank the InteDashboard team for hosting such a wonderful workshop series. Communication was timely and accurate, all the learning outcomes and my personal expectations were met, organization was superb, and I learned a lot! I will definitely recomment InteDashboard and any workshops you host to my colleagues. Plus, I hope to convince my administration to adopt InteDashboard to facilitate our TBL activities.

Adam Kolatorowicz, PhD

DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine at LMU-Knoxville, Associate Professor, Anatomy

I enjoyed the online workshop series experience very much and feel I did get a good start on understanding some of the basics of TBL. I am not on the cutting edge of using technology and learning via online methods so it was a bit out of my comfort zone as I tried to manage the technology, listening and participating, and summarizing. Having said that, I think it is a tribute to the quality of the program that made the experience enjoyable and a meaningful learning opportunity. I am appreciative of the entire team, including the facilitators, that were a part of this program. Your follow-up and the technology support was evident and consistently well handled. Also, I did like working with the same team members throughout the program and also found it helpful to hear from the other program participants whose previous TBL experiences contributed to the discussions.

Margaret L. Wilkinson, PhD, MA

Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Associate Dean Assistant Professor, Pre-Clinical Education Department of Family Medicine

The most valuable takeaway from the workshop was going through an online TBL itself, very practical tips and advices.

Dr. Zhe Han

National University of Singapore, Lecturer, Department of Pharmacy

Getting to experience TBL for myself throughout the workshops, and hearing about the experiences of so many others who have tried it in different areas was an insightful experience.

Nicolette Richardson

York University, Associate Professor, KINE Anatomy

It was valuable to be able to experience myself how TBL online can work and to see some of the problems we can anticipate when implementing it.

Christa Wood

University of Wollongong, Lecturer, Management

Testimonials

Dr. Julie M Estis
Dr. Julie M Estis Associate Professor, Speech Therapy University of South Alabama
It was a great expirience!
Star Fill Star Fill Star Fill Star 6 Star 6
“Outstanding tool for face-to-face, web-blended and fully online TBL courses! We’ve been using InteDashboard across several TBL classes at the University of South Alabama and are consistently impressed with the tool as well as the exceptional support from the team. We look forward to increasing utilization of InteDashboard through our campus-wide project.”
Dr. Julie M Estis
Dr. Julie M Estis Associate Professor, Speech Therapy University of South Alabama
It was a great expirience!
Star Fill Star Fill Star Fill Star 6 Star 6
“Outstanding tool for face-to-face, web-blended and fully online TBL courses! We’ve been using InteDashboard across several TBL classes at the University of South Alabama and are consistently impressed with the tool as well as the exceptional support from the team. We look forward to increasing utilization of InteDashboard through our campus-wide project.”
Dr. Julie M Estis
Dr. Julie M Estis Associate Professor, Speech Therapy University of South Alabama
It was a great expirience!
Star Fill Star Fill Star Fill Star 6 Star 6
“Outstanding tool for face-to-face, web-blended and fully online TBL courses! We’ve been using InteDashboard across several TBL classes at the University of South Alabama and are consistently impressed with the tool as well as the exceptional support from the team. We look forward to increasing utilization of InteDashboard through our campus-wide project.”
Dr. Julie M Estis
Dr. Julie M Estis Associate Professor, Speech Therapy University of South Alabama
It was a great expirience!
Star Fill Star Fill Star Fill Star 6 Star 6
“Outstanding tool for face-to-face, web-blended and fully online TBL courses! We’ve been using InteDashboard across several TBL classes at the University of South Alabama and are consistently impressed with the tool as well as the exceptional support from the team. We look forward to increasing utilization of InteDashboard through our campus-wide project.”
Dr. Julie M Estis
Dr. Julie M Estis Associate Professor, Speech Therapy University of South Alabama
It was a great expirience!
Star Fill Star Fill Star Fill Star 6 Star 6
“Outstanding tool for face-to-face, web-blended and fully online TBL courses! We’ve been using InteDashboard across several TBL classes at the University of South Alabama and are consistently impressed with the tool as well as the exceptional support from the team. We look forward to increasing utilization of InteDashboard through our campus-wide project.”
Dr. Julie M Estis
Dr. Julie M Estis Associate Professor, Speech Therapy University of South Alabama
It was a great expirience!
Star Fill Star Fill Star Fill Star 6 Star 6
“Outstanding tool for face-to-face, web-blended and fully online TBL courses! We’ve been using InteDashboard across several TBL classes at the University of South Alabama and are consistently impressed with the tool as well as the exceptional support from the team. We look forward to increasing utilization of InteDashboard through our campus-wide project.”
It was a great expirience!
Star Fill Star Fill Star Fill Star 6 Star 6
“Outstanding tool for face-to-face, web-blended and fully online TBL courses! We’ve been using InteDashboard across several TBL classes at the University of South Alabama and are consistently impressed with the tool as well as the exceptional support from the team. We look forward to increasing utilization of InteDashboard through our campus-wide project.”
It was a great expirience!
Star Fill Star Fill Star Fill Star 6 Star 6
“Outstanding tool for face-to-face, web-blended and fully online TBL courses! We’ve been using InteDashboard across several TBL classes at the University of South Alabama and are consistently impressed with the tool as well as the exceptional support from the team. We look forward to increasing utilization of InteDashboard through our campus-wide project.”
It was a great expirience!
Star Fill Star Fill Star Fill Star 6 Star 6
“Outstanding tool for face-to-face, web-blended and fully online TBL courses! We’ve been using InteDashboard across several TBL classes at the University of South Alabama and are consistently impressed with the tool as well as the exceptional support from the team. We look forward to increasing utilization of InteDashboard through our campus-wide project.”