Benefits of Near-Peer Tutoring in Small Group Discussions: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: A year senior medical students can prove to be a useful teaching resource with added benefits for the tutors. The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions of near-peer tutors after facilitating small group discussions while delivering an integrated curriculum in preclinical years.
 Material and Methods: This qualitative exploratory pilot study was conducted in Rawal Institute of Health Sciences Islamabad, Pakistan from July 2017 to November 2017. Students of First year MBBS class (n=100), were divided into six small groups. Seven Second year MBBS students who had secured more than 60% marks throughout year one assessments and in Professional examination were selected as Near-Peer tutors after informed verbal consent. In the first discussion, three groups were taught by three tutors and three by junior faculty. In the second discussion, the groups were swapped and exposed to the same strategy as above, with new learning objectives, but the remaining three tutors now took batches. One tutor acted as a substitute. Qualitative data was collected after interviewing the tutors individually and responses were audio recorded. The collected data, both notes and audio recordings of the interviews, was transcribed into text to generate codes, theme and sub themes.
 Results: Transcription of data revealed that the tutors enjoyed teaching and were of the opinion that Near-Peer tutoring is more effective in small groups, for both tutors and the learners. The tutors felt a boost in self-confidence and improvement in communication skills, after facilitating a small group. Tutoring also helped in developing their higher order cognitive thinking, learning skills and time management.
 Conclusions: Near-Peer tutoring helped the tutors develop learning and communications skills while facilitating small group sessions, thus helping them in their future medical roles.
 Key words: Integrated curriculum, Near-Peer tutoring, Peer Assisted Learning, Small group discussions.

Introduction of Near-Peer Mentorship Program in an Undergraduate Medical College in Pakistan: A Pilot Study

“…Furthermore, 90% of the NPMs also agreed that their confidence and communication skills were improved during this study. This was consistent with the studies by Abdolalizadeh et al [11] and by Muazam et al [21] in which it was evident that near-peer mentoring brought a positive change in students' professional abilities like communication, leadership, and facilitation. The reason can be that they were networked and managed the diverse groups of mentees solely and this led to an increase in motivation to complete their course with more dedication.…”

Peer Assisted Learning; The Perspective of Peer Tutors

“…Muazam et al also reported that the PAL technique creates an atmosphere that allows the learners to achieve goals in a stress-free manner. 12 Burgess et al also reported that PAL provided a respectful learning environment for the students with different abilities. 13 The PAL program was highly valued by the studenttutors with measurable benefits to the learners.…”

“…One of the students stated, "teaching is a technique and a skill". 12 The student tutors commented positively on the quality of the learning experience with their peer tutors. The tutors felt motivated to take the task as they believed they had the confidence to lead the team.…”