In Chinese neurology education, TBL alone or combined with other methods is associated with improved self-study ability, communication skills, and teamwork ability versus LBL¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r2 · q3 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2026 · checked against its sources 2026-10-31 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i3 In RCTs of neurology education in mainland China, TBL alone or combined with other teaching methods was associated with higher self-study ability (SMD = 1.15, 3 studies), communication skills (SMD = 2.36, 4 studies), and teamwork ability (SMD = 0.97, 3 studies) than LBL. → Fu Jie 2026

Evidence¶

Fu Jie 2026¶

Fu Jie, Chen Xiu, Li Jinglun, Peng Lilei. (2026). TBL alone or combined with other teaching methods for neurology education in China: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-09468-1

q3 · i3 · quant-synthesis · r2

Meta-analysis of 16 RCTs (1,267 students, interns and residents) in neurology education in mainland China, comparing TBL alone (9 studies) or TBL combined with other teaching methods (7 studies) with lecture-based learning. These are secondary outcomes from small sets of the RCTs: self-study ability from 3 studies (SMD = 1.15), communication skills from 4 studies (SMD = 2.36), and teamwork ability from 3 studies (SMD = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.68 to 1.26, p < 0.00001). The authors note the included studies' low methodological quality (none reported allocation concealment) and that results from mainland China may not generalise elsewhere.

"For self-study ability, 3 studies were included in the meta-analysis, and the pooled SMD was 1.15 (95% CI: 0.69 to 1.61, p < 0.00001). For communication skills, 4 studies were included, and the meta-analysis yielded a SMD of 2.36 (95% CI: 0.74 to 3.98, p = 0.004)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Collaboration — outcome: instruction changes it
• Communication Skills — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• TBL alone and TBL combined with other methods both outperform LBL, with no significant difference between the two TBL formats — related
• TBL is associated with higher practical skill scores than LBL in Chinese neurology education (SMD = 1.72) — related
• TBL is associated with higher theoretical knowledge scores than LBL in Chinese neurology education (SMD = 1.16) — related
• Students in TBL groups report higher satisfaction than students in LBL groups — related
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• PBL alone most improves self-directed learning ability of internal medicine residents versus LBL — related
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