Both preparing to teach and teaching positively impact learning outcomes for peer teachers

Figures & data

Table

Practice points

Peer teaching in undergraduate medical education has previously been shown to have both cognitive and non-cognitive benefits for peer teachers. The separate contributions of preparing to teach and actively teaching small group sessions have independent positive effects on knowledge gains for peer teachers. To optimize the learning experience for both peer teachers and their students, future studies should explore ways to improve how peer teachers’ prepare to teach and subsequently how they teach.

Figure 1. Outline of our study design and participant flow.

Table 1.  Peer teacher performance on three ACLS knowledge examinations.

	Pre-test	Immediate post-test (%)		Delayed post-test (%)
Group	(%)	Algorithm	ECG	Algorithm	ECG
Non-teachers	39.6 (n = 5)	57.6 (n = 5)	58.4 (n = 5)	44.0 (n = 2)	44.0 (n = 2)
Algorithm teachers	42.3 (n = 6)	66.0 (n = 6)	54.0 (n = 6)	59.3 (n = 6)	50.0 (n = 6)
ECG teachers	46.0 (n = 6)	52.7 (n = 6)	66.7 (n = 6)	60.8 (n = 5)	64.8 (n = 5)

Note: The immediate and delayed post-test results are subdivided into the AHA algorithm and rapid ECG interpretation components of the exam.

Figure 2. The effect of preparing to teach and teaching on peer teachers’ test scores.