Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2017 Nov;9(6):1170-1179. doi: 10.1016/j.cptl.2017.07.026. Epub 2017 Sep 01.
Peer teaching as an educational tool in Pharmacy schools; fruitful or futile.
Currents in pharmacy teaching & learning
Mona Hassan Aburahma, Heba Moustafa Mohamed
Affiliations
Affiliations
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Egypt. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Egypt. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 29233388
DOI: 10.1016/j.cptl.2017.07.026
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In the past decade, various health care programs have implemented diverse types of peer-assisted learning (PAL) programs, in particularly peer teaching (PT), due to their reported benefits for students (both those undertaking teaching and those being taught), teachers, and educational institutes. Unfortunately, peer teaching is still under-recognized in pharmacy programs worldwide when compared to other health care programs. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the published literature centered on formal PT programs that are implemented in pharmacy schools. In addition, this review focuses on the methodologies adopted for peer teacher recruitment and training as well as the benefits gained by students (both those undertaking teaching and those being taught). The rationales behind PT implementation are recapitulated as well. Finally, a simple scheme for successful implementation of PT activity is provided to serve as a groundwork for educators.
METHODS: Pre-defined key terms were used to search for experimental peer teaching activities in pharmacy schools between January 2000 and June 2016. Titles were selected based on pre-set eligibility criteria. Only complete research articles with clear design and evaluation sections were included in this review. Studies about inter-professional peer teaching activities between pharmacy students and other healthcare professions were also included.
RESULTS: Six relevant educational research articles containing peer teaching activities were included. A lot of variety exists between different pharmacy courses implementing PT, the format/setting of PT, how peer teachers are selected, and how training and evaluation are implemented. The studies reviewed confirmed that PT was well received by most of the students and had a positive impact on their learning outcome. These findings cannot be generalized due to the insufficient number of studies published beside their methodological limitations and inadequate descriptions of the PT format.
IMPLICATIONS: Though PT may be regarded as a feasible teaching strategy, care must be taken during implementation to ensure the fulfillment of the educational objectives. Proper validation of any PT initiative is required before incorporation into the pharmacy curriculum. More research using proper design and suitable sample sizes are recommended to determine the effect of PT activity on students' learning, skills development and confidence.
Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Peer assisted learning; Peer teaching; Peer tutoring; Pharmacy education; Student teaching; Undergraduate pharmacy students
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