Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is a common teaching and learning method in medical education worldwide. In the setting of skills laboratories (skills labs), student tutors are often employed as an equivalent alternative to faculty teachers.
The beneficial effects of Peer- assisted learning in medical education have been well-described in the literature. However, it is unclear whether students prefer to be taught by peers in small or large group settings. This study’s aim was to identify differences in medical students’ preferences and perceptions of small-group versus large-group peer teaching. Methods: Questionnaires were administered to medical students in Year 3 and Year 4 (first 2 years of clinical training) at one institution in the United Kingdom to identify their experiences and perceptions of small-and large-group peer teaching. For this study, small-group peer teaching was defined as a tutorial, or similar, taught by peer tutor to a group of 5 students or less. Large-group peer teaching was defined as a lecture, or similar, taught by peer tutors to a group of more than 20 students. Results: Seventy-three students (81% response rate) completed the questionnaires (54% males; median age of 23). Nearly 55% of respondents reported prior exposure to small-group peer teaching but a larger proportion of respondents (86%) had previously attended large-group peer teaching. Of all valid responses, 49% did not have a preference of peer teaching method while 47% preferred small-group peer teaching. The majority of Year 3 students preferred small-group peer teaching to no preference (62.5% vs 37.5%, Fisher’s exact test; P = 0.035) whereas most Year 4 students did not report a particular preference. Likert-scale responses showed that the majority of students held negative perceptions about large-group peer teaching, in comparison with small-group peer teaching, with respect to (1) interactivity, (2) a comfortable environment to ask questions, and (3) feedback received.
Peer Instruction is a remarkably interactive and powerful teaching and learning strategy for the classroom and from our recent experience during the COVID-12 pandemic, for the synchronous on-line platform. As with all ‘flipped classroom’ strategies, the quality of planning and preparation by the instructor is critical for its success. A user- and instructor- friendly audience response system is an enormous benefit for providing valuable attendance and performance data for the instructor and immediate feedback for the student. Student feedback on Peer Instruction’s social interactive dimension and content learning will make this strategy a more common one in medical education.
