Enhancing Student’s Sense of belongings, performance and Inclusion: Exploring the Benefits of Team-Based Learning in College Classrooms

This paper analyses the benefits of introducing team-based learning (TBL) teaching methodology, an active learning method that promotes group work, in university classrooms. The study compares two classes of macroeconomics with the same curriculum and teaching hours, but one class uses TBL while the other follows traditional teaching methods. The study goes beyond comparing students’ performance at the individual level and assesses the potential of TBL to foster inclusion through the sense of belonging. The sense of belonging refers to an individual’s subjective experience or perception of being connected, accepted, and included in a particular group, community, or social setting. It encompasses the feeling of being valued, respected, and integrated into a social context that in our case is the macroeconomic class/community. Comparisons between groups were made using econometric and statistical analysis on a database composed of administrative sources and data collection originated through teaching activities which allow controlling of student socio-demographic characteristics and their academic careers. The econometric analysis started with a multivariate regression to estimate the TBL’s effect on students’ sense of belonging. Subsequently, it employed the propensity-score matching technique to match similar students and estimates: the average treatment effect (ATE), the average treatment effect on treated students (ATET) and the potential outcome mean (POM). Finally, it refined the estimates through the augmented inverse probability weighting. All techniques used confirm a positive and highly significant effect of treatment on students’ sense of belonging. In addition, multivariate analysis showed that those effects are higher for categories most at risk because they are more distant from the macroeconomic environment (females, low performers, repeat students, etc...). The findings contribute to understanding the benefits of active learning approaches in terms of individual student success and promoting inclusivity for weaker groups in higher education.