MedEdPublish (Aug 2017)
How does attending PowerPoint free peer to peer teaching impact student experiences at medical school?
Abstract
Background Student-Seminars is a small group teaching project where second year medical students teach first year students, using whiteboard drawings and interactive activities to facilitate understanding of concepts in a non-threatening setting. Methods Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants who had attended Student-Seminars. Three focus groups were held with six participants each to discuss academic and non-academic topics. Data reached saturation and themes were identified with an inductive approach using NVivo software. Results The slow pace and interactive teaching style aided understanding of concepts. Whiteboard teaching was preferred over PowerPoint as it was engaging and presented information in an easy to understand way. Students reported improved wellbeing due to the pastoral support of second years and increased confidence and motivation. Discussion PowerPoint is a mainstay of teaching in medical education. However, the success of Student-Seminars results from the innovative teaching methods and friendly learning environment created. This not only enabled greater depth of understanding but also positively impacted students' wellbeing. Conclusion Student-Seminars are an easily implemented, peer learning strategy that aids understanding of complex topics. The preference for whiteboard teaching over PowerPoint could be considered generally in medical education to improve dissemination of knowledge in small group settings.
