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Peer teaching in an online histology classroom
Author(s) -
Barbeau Michele,
Rogers Kem A
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.960.14
Subject(s) - upload , online teaching , presentation (obstetrics) , medical education , psychology , mathematics education , multimedia , computer science , medicine , world wide web , radiology
The impact of a peer teaching exercise for an online histology course has been assessed using a mixed method approach. Students signed up for a time they would be available to meet live in the virtual classroom. Each week, students were given specific virtual slidebox assignments which they uploaded into the classroom with full annotations. At their group meeting time, members would log into the classroom and take turns presenting their slides; presentations were archived for future reference. Other students were free to ask questions and the course instructor was either present live or viewed the presentation archive at a later time to ensure accuracy or provide clarification. Laboratory grades improved significantly compared to the previous year when peer teaching was not included (+9.4% (p<0.05)). Student surveys indicated that students believed that teaching others was “very helpful” (67%) or “helpful” (33%) for enhancing their understanding of course material compared to 100% who found attending presentations “helpful” for enhancing their understanding. In summary, we have shown that peer teaching in the online environment is an effective means to enhance student learning. Grant Funding Source : Social Sciences and Humanities Reseach Council of Canada