A faculty development program to train tutors to be discussion leaders rather than facilitators

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
• Curriculum Development

Background:

• Traditional tutor roles in preclinical PBL courses often focus on facilitation.
• Business school teaching strategies offer potential for enhancing PBL effectiveness.
• Implementing active learning techniques can improve student engagement and outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of shifting tutors from facilitators to discussion leaders in a preclinical PBL course.
• To assess the effectiveness of incorporating business school teaching strategies (questions, summaries, schematics) into PBL tutorials.
• To determine the difference this pedagogical approach made in student learning and satisfaction.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental design was used over three academic years (2003-2005).
• 70 tutors transitioned to a discussion leader role using targeted teaching strategies.
• Student attitudes were assessed via Likert-scale questionnaires; course evaluations and USMLE scores were analyzed pre- and post-intervention.

Main Results:

• Student-reported tutor effectiveness in encouraging direction significantly improved (P < .05).
• Tutorials were perceived as more important for learning, with better-stated and met course objectives (P < .05).
• Overall course satisfaction and mean USMLE scores for the gastrointestinal system showed significant increases.

Conclusions:

• The tutor as a discussion leader, employing questioning, summarizing, and schematic techniques, positively impacted learning.
• This approach significantly enhanced the achievement of course objectives and overall student satisfaction.
• The pedagogical shift resulted in a measurable increase in standardized national examination scores.