When learners become teachers: a review of peer teaching in medical student education

Peer teaching engages students as teachers and is widely used in K-12 education, many universities, and increasingly in medical schools. It draws on the social and cognitive congruence between learner and teacher and can be attractive to medical schools faced with a growing number of learners but a static faculty size. Peer teachers can give lectures on assigned topics, lead problem-based learning sessions, and provide one on one support to classmates in the form of tutoring.

We undertook a narrative review of research on peer teachers in medical school, specifically investigating how medical students are impacted by being peer teachers and how having a peer teacher impacts learners.

Studies have shown that peer teaching has a primarily positive impact on both the peer teacher and the learners. In the setting of problem-based learning courses or clinical skills instruction, medical students' performance on tests of knowledge or skills is similar whether they have faculty instructors or peer teachers. There is also strong evidence that being a peer teacher enhances the learning of the peer teacher relative to the content being taught. It is common for peer teachers to lack confidence in their abilities to successfully teach, and they appreciate receiving training related to their teaching role.

We find evidence from several different educational settings that peer teaching benefits both the peer teachers and the learners. This suggests that peer teaching is a valuable methodology for medical schools to engage learners as teachers.