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Evaluation of the Impact of Peer Teaching within the Gross Anatomy Laboratory on Student Academic Performance
Author(s) -
Wheeler Kelli,
Martin Charys,
Edmondson Anna
Publication year - 2015
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.29.1_supplement.690.14
Subject(s) - class (philosophy) , medical education , gross anatomy , psychology , significant difference , team based learning , team spirit , dissection (medical) , mathematics education , medicine , computer science , anatomy , political science , artificial intelligence , law
The gross anatomy lab provides an opportunity for small group peer teaching, enabling medical students to develop communication skills & enhance content understanding. Students are divided into teams that alternate dissections. Team members rotate leadership responsibilities for guiding peers through dissection & providing a review to the opposite group. This study assessed the impact peer teaching through team leading has on academic performance in anatomy. We hypothesized team leaders would outperform peers on written & practical exam questions related to sessions they led, & lower performing students would benefit more from peer teaching than higher performing students. Results showed team leaders significantly outperform non‐leaders on lab practical (χ 2 =60.2, p<0.01, ϕ=.03) and written exam (χ 2 =14.7, p<0.01, ϕ=.02) questions related to the lab they led. The class was divided into high & low performers based on final practical & written grades. On lab practicals, team leaders significantly outperformed non‐leaders in both subsets (High: 90% vs 87%; Low: 83% vs 77%), with a greater difference seen in the lower performing group. Lower performing leaders also significantly outscored non‐leaders on written exams(Low: 80% vs 76%). Results suggest peer teaching through team leading significantly impacts leader performance on lab & written exams and may be more beneficial to lower performing students.