Conversation Starter: Advancing the Theory of Peer-Assisted Learning

Abstract

This Conversation Starter article uses four selected abstracts, one each from the four regional Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group on Educational Affairs (CGEA) 2018 spring meetings, as a springboard for unpacking the definition of peer-assisted learning (PAL). The aim of this article is to prompt deeper reflection on this phenomenon and, in so doing, to foster scholarly program evaluation of this widely adopted instructional approach. This analysis calls for a more nuanced definition of PAL, one that emphasizes process over structure, one that stimulates examination of “doing” PAL and how this affects the personal and professional development of all involved.

Keywords:

• curriculum design
• curriculum evaluation
• educational theory
• peer-assisted learning