Rationale and Objectives
Teaching is an important skill. Academic physicians teach on a daily basis, and nearly all physicians occasionally teach colleagues and patients. There are generally few opportunities for medical students to learn teaching skills. We developed a novel “near-peer” teaching program in which fourth-year students cotaught first-year students.
Materials and Methods
Eighteen fourth-year students enrolled in our institution’s primary senior radiology elective learned the basics of ultrasound through a series of lectures and hands-on scanning sessions. Each fourth-year student, paired with a radiology resident or attending, then cotaught a first-year anatomy small group session. After instruction, voluntary surveys were administered to assess the perceived value of the “near-peer” teaching experience.
Results
Seventeen of 18 (94%) and 104 of 120 (87%) administered surveys were returned by fourth- and first-year students, respectively. Sixteen (94%) and 99 (95%) of the fourth- and first-year students reported they “enjoyed” or “really enjoyed” the near-peer teaching experience. Fourteen (82%) of the fourth years perceived improvement in their teaching skills and an increase in their knowledge. Only 8 (47%) of the fourth years thought they were “helpful” or “very helpful,” though 92 (88%) of the first years identified their fourth-year co-instructors as “helpful” or “very helpful.”
Conclusions
We piloted a novel “near-peer” program. Both senior and freshman students enjoyed the experience, and fourth years thought the session was educational for them as well. Although most fourth years did not judge themselves as helpful, first-year students overwhelmingly considered them a useful addition to the session.
Physicians almost universally benefit from being able to teach; some physicians directly teach as part of their regular duties and nearly all physicians have occasion to teach colleagues and patients. Although teaching skills are important, formal education on how to teach is generally lacking throughout medical school and postgraduate training .
Students teaching other students is termed “peer” or “near-peer” education . These terms are often applied to structured group teaching sessions, as opposed to the more common and informal one-on-one teaching that occurs on the clinical wards. Near-peer teaching can be beneficial for both the junior and senior learners alike: the more junior learners benefit from having a teacher who is sensitive to their position and knowledge level. The more senior learners benefit by solidifying their knowledge on a topic and from the opportunity to improve their teaching skills. Indeed, some research suggests that teaching can help students become more effective learners themselves .
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Materials and methods
“Near-Peer” Teaching: Preparing the Fourth-Year Students
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“Near-Peer” Teaching: Co-instructing the First-Year Students
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Survey Design and Administration
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Table 1
Survey Questions, Answer Choices, and Responses From Fourth-Year Medical Students (The Near-Peer Teachers)
Question Answer Choices Number of Responses (%) Mean Response (SD) Overall, did you enjoy teaching first-year students in this setting?5 really enjoyed9 ( 52.9) 4.5 (0.62)4 enjoyed7 ( 41.2) 3 neutral 1 (5.9) 2 did not enjoy 0 (0) 1 really did not enjoy 0 (0) Overall, did you feel helpful/useful as a co-instructor?5 very helpful2 ( 11.8) 3.5 (0.80)4 helpful6 ( 35.3) 3 neutral 8 (47.1) 2 not helpful 1 (5.9) 1 very not helpful 0 (0%) Did you feel sufficiently knowledgeable to be teaching this topic to this audience?5 very much sufficiently knowledgeable1 ( 5.9) 3.9 (0.57)4 sufficiently knowledgeable14 ( 82.4) 3 neutral 1 (5.9) 2 not sufficiently knowledgeable 1 (5.9) 1 very not sufficiently knowledgeable 0 (0) Did you learn more about the topic by participating as a co-instructor?Yes14 ( 82.4) No 3 (17.6) Do you feel this helped you improve your teaching skills?Yes14 ( 82.4%) No 3 (17.6)
Boldface indicates positive/favorable responses.
Table 2
Survey Questions, Answer Choices, and Responses From First-Year Medical Students (The Near-Peer Learners)
Question Answer Choices Number of Responses (%) Mean Response (SD) Overall, did you enjoy having fourth-year students as co-instructors?5 really enjoyed57 ( 54.8) 4.5 (0.59)4 enjoyed42 ( 40.4) 3 neutral 5 (4.8) 2 did not enjoy 0 (0) 1 really did not enjoy 0 (0) Overall, did you feel the fourth-year students were helpful/useful as co-instructors?5 very helpful53 ( 51.0) 4.4 (0.73)4 helpful39 ( 37.5) 3 neutral 10 (9.6) 2 not helpful 2 (1.9) 1 very not helpful 0 (0) Do you feel that the fourth-year students were sufficiently knowledgeable to be teaching this topic as co-instructors?5 very much sufficiently knowledgeable44 ( 42.3) 4.3 (0.71)4 sufficiently knowledgeable49 ( 47.1) 3 neutral 9 (8.7) 2 not sufficiently knowledgeable 2 (1.9) 1 very not sufficiently knowledgeable 0 (0) How large of a role did the fourth-year students have in teaching the sessions5 very large role23 ( 22.1) 3.8 (0.958)4 large role47 ( 45.2) 3 neutral 21 (20.2) 2 small role 11 (10.6) 1 very small role 2 (1.9)
Boldface indicates positive/favorable responses.
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Statistical Analysis
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Results
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Discussion
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Conclusion
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Appendix
Handwritten Comments From Administered Surveys
Comments from fourth-year student surveys (8 of 17 surveys contained written comments)
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Comments from first-year student surveys (39 of 104 surveys contained written comments)
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