Abstract
BackgroundSkills in peer teaching, assessment and feedback are documented internationally as required graduate attributes for health professional students, placing emphasis on universities to prepare health professional graduates with teaching skills. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the rational, design, content and evaluation of student peer teacher training skills programs across the health professions.MethodsIn October 2017, a search was conducted of five databases (Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, ERIC and Cochrane Collection) using combinations of key search terms: ‘Student as teacher’, ‘near-peer teaching’, ‘student teacher’, ‘peer teacher’, ‘peer-to-peer’, ‘undergraduate’, ‘medical education’, ‘curriculum’, ‘program’, ‘training’, ‘allied health’, ‘health science’, ‘pharmacy’, ‘nurse’, and ‘medicine’, with results restricted to articles published in English within the decade. Articles were excluded if they were not original research, focused on a teaching approach other than peer assisted learning or teaching, did not adequately describe a student teacher training component of at least 3 hrs duration, or addressed only clinical skills training and not teaching skills training.ResultsThe two authors independently assessed 42 full-text articles for eligibility, with 19 articles satisfying criteria for inclusion. Dominating results were uni-disciplinary, faculty-led, non-mandated programs, targeting participants in senior years of training. Medicine was the dominant profession, with an obvious underrepresentation of the other health professions. Common program content included the foundations of education theory, teaching methods and techniques, and providing feedback. Summary and comparison of program design is restricted by gaps and inconsistencies in reporting, while the evaluation of programs remains largely subjective.ConclusionsTeaching is increasingly recognised as a core professional skill across the health workforce, with expectations to teach peers and colleagues, within and across professional disciplines, as well as to educate patients. Students, faculty and institutes may benefit from training programs being designed for implementation in any health profession; and further to this, implemented within an interprofessionally context. Consistent reporting of teacher training programs, and objective methods of evaluation would enable more in-depth investigation.
Highlights
Skills in peer teaching, assessment and feedback are documented internationally as required graduate attributes for health professional students, placing emphasis on universities to prepare health professional graduates with teaching skills
Programs were implemented in the United States of America (USA) (7/19) [10,11,12,13,14,15,16], Germany (4/19) [17,18,19,20], Australia (4/19) [21,22,23,24], Netherlands (1/19) [25], United Kingdom (UK) (1/19)
We identified a total of 19 studies reporting on the implementation of teacher training programs
Summary
Assessment and feedback are documented internationally as required graduate attributes for health professional students, placing emphasis on universities to prepare health professional graduates with teaching skills. Teaching skills are best acquired through a sequence of training, practice and feedback [5] Reports of both informal and formal peer assisted learning (PAL) activities encouraging practice in peer teaching and assessment within the health professions are widely published, within medicine [4]. There is a paucity of reporting on training provided to student teachers across the health professions That is, it is unclear how health professional students are prepared for participation as ‘peer tutors’ or ‘peer assessors’ in peer assisted learning activities [4], involving teaching and assessment of clinical skills and procedural skills. The review revealed only one peer teacher training program that reported testing teacher competencies of the peer tutors prior to participation in peer assisted learning activities [4]. This was the only program reporting accuracy in peer tutor marking [6]
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