Abstract
BackgroundAt Norwich Medical School, Year 3 or 4 medical students taking a year out of the 5-year undergraduate MBBS degree to do a master’s degree in clinical education worked as near-peer problem-based learning (PBL) tutors for students in Year 2. Peer-assisted learning has been shown to benefit both peer tutors and tutees; in this study, experiences of students with near-peer PBL tutors were compared to students with other types of PBL tutor.MethodsUsing existing student evaluation data, we compared student views about PBL tutor performance, PBL group functioning, and overall satisfaction with PBL learning experience according to whether their PBL tutor/s were (1) a single near-peer tutor (later-year MB BS student), (2) a single staff tutor, (3) multiple staff tutors, or (4) multiple newly qualified doctor tutors.ResultsResults indicated that students’ evaluation of tutor performance was more positive for near-peer PBL tutors compared to both groups of staff tutors for most areas evaluated. Additionally, students’ evaluation of overall satisfaction with PBL was more positive for near-peer PBL tutors compared to multiple staff tutors. Tutor performance for multiple staff tutors was evaluated less positively compared to both single staff and multiple newly qualified doctor groups. But there were no statistically significant differences between the four groups regarding PBL group functioning.ConclusionNear-peer PBL tutors perform comparably or better to staff PBL tutors in salient measures of tutor performance and group functioning. We conclude that medical students find near-peer PBL tutors to be an acceptable addition to the PBL tutor workforce.
Highlights
The General Medical Council (GMC) in the UK have emphasised the importance of medical students taking opportunities to develop their teaching skills during undergraduate medical training [1]
Peer-assisted learning in problem-based learning (PBL) has been utilised both through peer tutoring [3, 4] and near-peer tutoring [5,6,7,8]
Students are asked to rate on a 5-point Likert scale four questions about their PBL group experience, six questions on their views about aspects of the facilitation provided by their PBL tutor, and one question rating their overall satisfaction with their PBL learning experience (Appendix, Box 1)
Summary
The General Medical Council (GMC) in the UK have emphasised the importance of medical students taking opportunities to develop their teaching skills during undergraduate medical training [1]. Peer-assisted learning is one Research conducted whilst at Norwich Medical School way of aiding students in the development of important teaching skills, preparing students for their future role as educators after they become qualified doctors [2]. Peer-assisted learning has been used in a variety of different ways in medical education, including problem-based learning (PBL). Year 3 or 4 medical students taking a year out of the 5-year undergraduate MBBS degree to do a master’s degree in clinical education worked as near-peer problem-based learning (PBL) tutors for students in Year 2. Peer-assisted learning has been shown to benefit both peer tutors and tutees; in this study, experiences of students with nearpeer PBL tutors were compared to students with other types of PBL tutor
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