To adopt or not to adopt innovation: A case study of team-based learning

Evidence of the benefits of an innovation is a necessary but not sufficient condition for its adoption in higher education. This paper reports an investigation of decision making to adopt team-based learning (TBL), an innovation for structuring collaborative small-group learning that has been acclaimed over recent decades. In this study two sets of respondents were asked to reflect on the adoption process, using Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovation model (with modifications) to frame both the questions and responses. Despite TBL's relative advantages, the results show a crucial factor affecting adoption of TBL is its compatibility with the would-be adopter's teaching approach and with the dominant organisational culture; other factors are TBL's visibility, trialability, and complexity. In the ensuing discussion, strategies for addressing the apparent chasm between the mainstream majority and early adopters of innovation are outlined.