Twin Talk Series: A novel method to foster peer‐to‐peer pedagogical training

Abstract

Mayo Clinic annually trains over 1000 predoctoral students and postdoctoral research fellows in medicine and biomedical sciences. However, training opportunities are limited for those interested in teaching and mentoring methodologies. Therefore, Mayo Clinic predoctoral students sought to provide trainee‐led learning opportunities for fellow trainees. A survey was sent to all Mayo Clinic predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees to determine preferences for pedagogy education formats. In response to survey results, the Twin Talk Series was developed. A Twin Talk is a set of one‐hour talks comprised of a Take‐in session and one or more Try‐out session(s). At the Take‐in session, a content expert discusses a pedagogical technique, and at the following Try‐out session(s), trainee volunteers practice the technique among themselves. Eight Twin Talks have been organized to date on several teaching techniques and pedagogical development topics. The impact of each Twin Talk, including understanding, format, and interest level, was evaluated through survey tools. Survey results suggested trainees favored in‐person pedagogy expert presenters during the Take‐in session over video conferences. Furthermore, modeling of the teaching technique by the expert presenter during the Take‐in session was well‐received. However, participation in the follow‐up Try‐out practice session was limited. Overall, the Twin Talk Series is a promising method for trainee‐led, peer‐to‐peer pedagogy education, particularly at institutions with limited access to pedagogical resources. The Twin Talk Series will continue to be refined to increase trainee participation, particularly in the follow‐up Try‐out sessions, and to provide relevant opportunities for trainees to practice teaching.Support or Funding InformationMayo Foundation of Medical Education and ResearchThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.