A SUCCESSFUL RECIPROCAL PEER TEACHING PROGRAM FOR MEDICAL GROSS ANATOMY AND HISTOLOGY LABS

Douglas P. Dohrman, Ph.D.,* Wei-Jung A Chen, Ph.D., and Thomas V. Peterson, Ph.D., Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, and Office of Educational Development, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, College Station, Texas 77843-1114 U.S.A.

PURPOSE: Many medical schools have been faced with the challenges of increasing class size while at the same time facing static laboratory size and, in some cases, reduced number of teaching faculty. In our institution, we implemented a Reciprocal Peer Teaching Program in the Histology and Medical Gross Anatomy labs to alleviate some potential concerns associated with these challenges, and at the same time to facilitate the interaction among students. In addition, it was hypothesized that the students would learn the material better when they were responsible for teaching their fellow students.

METHODS: For the Medical Gross Anatomy lab, a group of 6 students was assigned to each tank (cadaver) and they were further divided into 3 groups of 2 students (A, B, and C). However, only 2 groups of students at a time would be in the lab performing the dissection and the third group of 2 students had independent study time. This practice significantly reduced the number of cadavers needed for the course, while at the same time reducing the number of faculty needed in the lab and still maintaining optimal student to faculty ratios. One group of students who performed the dissection was then responsible for teaching the structures they had dissected to the one group of 2 students who were not scheduled to be in the lab for that specific dissection. In order to assure the effort and quality of the student instruction, the group that was not present at the dissection were then given a quiz based on photographic images of the class dissections and the 6 students from the same tank received the grade of the group taking the quiz. Groups of students from the same tank were rotated so they performed 2 out of every 3 dissections.

For the Histology lab, a rotating group of 8 students received detailed instruction over the slides for the up-coming lab with a faculty member at least one day prior to the scheduled lab. These students then acted as "Peer Teachers" for the class during the scheduled lab time, answering questions and helping their fellow students locate and identify microscopic structures and cells. Faculty members were also available in the lab to confirm or answer difficult questions.

RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the Reciprocal Peer Teaching Program in both courses was a huge success. The large majority of students felt that the group rotation worked well for the Medical Gross Anatomy labs and should be continued in the future. For the Histology course, 93% of students rated their experience as being positive with no students reporting a negative experience. The same percentage agreed that acting as a Peer Teacher significantly helped them better understand the material, proving the adage "those who teach, learn." Student comments reflected their support for expansion of the Reciprocal Peer Teaching Program.