Learning pharmacology through peer tutoring

Abstract

Objective: Knowing the effectiveness of peer tutoring methods in pharmacology learning for medical students. Method: This was a quasi-experimental study with a post-test only design. Subjects were second-year medical students who were divided into four control groups and four experimental groups. Students in the experimental group experienced peer tutoring methods. The difference in motivation and performance scores in both groups was analyzed using t-tests. Results: Motivation in the experimental group was higher than in the control group, for interest motivation (79.09 ± 13.11 vs 75.24 ± 13.46; p = 0.411), value motivation (80.89 ± 11.57 vs 76.54 ± 12.20; p = 0.292), perceived motivation (66.26 ± 7.44 vs 666.20 ± 10.09; p = 0.977), and as well as total (76.33 ± 9.33 vs 73.31 ± 10.30; p = 0.159). The performance score in the control group was higher than the treatment group (60.45 ± 6.39 vs 60.67 ± 4.72; p = 0.649). Conclusion: Quality control, monitoring, and evaluation are required to produce an effective peer tutoring program. One of which is through rigorous peer tutor recruitment, tutor training, and ensuring the commitment of the peer tutors.

Keywords

• Peer tutoring
• Pharmacology
• Performance
• Motivation