Sandra Stinnett, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
Assistant Professor in Ophthalmology
Duke University Medical Center

Discipline: Medicine

Email: stinn001@mc.duke.edu

Dr. Stinnett uses TBL in her course on medical statistics for third year medical students at the Duke School of Medicine. Students learn statistical techniques they will use to analyze their own data for their thesis research. Students are required to read a text and journals, watch JMP software demonstrations, her PowerPoint presentations, and watch recorded lectures from previous years. All the course materials are available via BlueDocs, the medical school’s Learning Management System. During class, students take Individual Readiness Assurance Tests followed by the same test taken as a team, the Group Readiness Assurance Test. Students discuss and debate the answers, which helps all students master the material. Then, the teams work on Application Exercises, which require thought, discussion and computation. Student feedback and evaluations were positive. Students demonstrated that they learned, and were engaged and active. She found the course was more enjoyable to teach. “What I like most about using TBL is not lecturing! In TBL, students are engaged in learning and I am more engaged with them. The class is active and exciting for all of us.” Dr. Stinnett received her certification in TBL in March 2013 and is on the Membership Committee for TBLC.