Birds of a Feather Undermine Equity: A Strategy to Align Intent and Outcome in Team-Based Learning in Higher Education

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2503.17476v1
• Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2025 18:45:25 GMT
• Title: Birds of a Feather Undermine Equity: A Strategy to Align Intent and Outcome in Team-Based Learning in Higher Education
• Authors: P G Kubendran Amos,
• Abstract summary: When students form their own teams for Team-Based Learning tasks, they unintentionally cluster with peers of similar socio-economic backgrounds.<n>This study introduces a simple strategy to facilitate equitable team formation through a quantitative reflection of students' socio-economic backgrounds and their self-perceived preparedness.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: Efforts to promote equity in higher education often rely on shared intent among instructors and students. Yet, as demonstrated in this study, when students form their own teams for Team-Based Learning (TBL) tasks, they unintentionally cluster with peers of similar socio-economic backgrounds, ultimately undermining equity. This study introduces a simple strategy to facilitate equitable team formation through a quantitative reflection of students' socio-economic backgrounds and their self-perceived preparedness. When applied, the strategy yielded balanced teams and improved performance. In its absence, team compositions became skewed and class performance declined. These findings highlight a behavioural gap between intent and outcome and underscore the need for structural supports to translate equity goals into practice.

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