Team-Based Learning

Graham Easton is Honorary Professor of Clinical Communication Skills at Queen Mary University of London (England, UK), and until recently Professor of Medical Education and Lead for Team-Based Learning. For 25 years he has combined a career in medical education with working as a General Practitioner (GP). His experience as a medical journalist for the BBC and the British Medical Journal (BMJ) inspired his interest in the power of stories as a teaching and communication tool, and his doctoral research looked at how medical teachers use stories in their lectures. He has written several books—including The Appointment, selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club, and is now channeling his love of storytelling into writing his first novel. Graham is part of the Peer-led Team Learning group at QMUL which won a national Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) in 2025. He was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2024. 

 

Why I chose to work with the Team-Based Learning model 

I was first drawn to Team-Based Learning (TBL) because of the buzz in the room. Learners are engaged in tackling real-life problems together as a team. They get instant feedback. It’s active learning, it keeps didactic teaching and theory to a minimum. It also develops many of the key skills that future doctors will need; communication, teamwork, public speaking, peer evaluation, and critical thinking. I wish they did TBL when I was a student.