Comparing the impacts of reciprocal peer teaching with faculty teaching: A single-centre experience from KSA

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of peer-led learning with faculty-led teaching activities in fifth-year students during their Internal Medicine II placement. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the results of multiple-choice questions exams at the end-of-placement for 2016 to 2017. RESULTS: During the study period, 120 students in three cohorts completed the placement. There was a statistically significant difference (p < .001) between the mean student grade (% of correct answers) for questions related to lectures (n = 85, M = 68.7, 95% CI: 66.4–70.9), case scenarios (n = 24, M = 68.6, CI: 65.1–72.1), tutorials (n = 15, M = 64.9, CI: 59.9–69.8), and seminars (n = 24, M = 60.0, CI: 56.5–63.5). The first cohort had statistically significant better grades (M = 79.7, CI: 77.9–81.6) than the other two cohorts (group 2 M = 57.2, CI: 51.8–62.5; group 3 M = 60.5, CI: 58.1–63.0; p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: In our study, students performed worse on questions drawn from reciprocal peer-taught seminars. This result could be attributed to students' poor teaching quality, as they were randomly selected to lead a seminar. However, this study was limited by heterogeneity in the number and topics of different teaching activities and certain other factors.