Ehsan Ambreen Afzal
Department of Orthodontics, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi, Pakistan.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2020 Nov;30(11):1184-1187. doi: 10.29271/jcpsp.2020.11.1184.
To evaluate the difference in peer-assisted learning (PAL) and expert-assisted learning (EAL) sessions for selected topics of orthodontics, conducted by either a peer or faculty member, respectively as measured by their test scores.
Experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Orthodontics, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine (AIDM) Karachi, Pakistan, from October 2019 to March 2020. Methodology: The study was carried out with the final year undergraduate dental students in the subject of orthodontics, selected by using non-probability sampling method. Selected students were given an introductory lecture on PAL approach at the start of the study. Two PAL sessions were conducted in smaller groups with all students utilised as an adjunct to traditional large group lectures; and at the end assessment was conducted comprising of multiple choice questions (MCQ). For the consecutive four weeks, same students went through traditional EAL, followed by similar type of assessment. Their test scores were compared for significance, set at p <0.05.
A total of six sessions were conducted, two faculty members (professors of orthodontics) conducted two sessions each, and subsequent two sessions were conducted by employing PAL approach by students (earlier trained by the faculty). The mean differences in the scores of students was compared between faculty teaching and PAL-related teaching. It was observed that the EAL group significantly performed better than PAL group (p<0.05).
In terms of test scores, academic performance and overall learning in PAL sessions was not higher than EAL group. Nonetheless, PAL can be utilised as an important supplement to synchronous teaching tele-presence by faculty as being practised during current pandemic situation in many medical and dental institutes. Key Words: Peer-assisted learning, Educational strategies, Professional development, Expert-assisted learning, Ethical review committee, Team-based learning.
评估分别由同龄人或教员进行的同伴辅助学习（PAL）和专家辅助学习（EAL）课程在正畸学选定主题方面的差异，以测试成绩作为衡量标准。
实验性研究。研究地点和时间：巴基斯坦卡拉奇阿尔塔马什牙科学院正畸科，2019年10月至2020年3月。方法：该研究针对正畸学专业本科最后一年的学生进行，采用非概率抽样方法选取。在研究开始时，为选定的学生进行了关于PAL方法的入门讲座。以较小的小组形式进行了两次PAL课程，所有学生都参与其中，作为传统大班讲座的补充；最后进行了包括多项选择题（MCQ）的评估。在接下来的四周里，同一批学生接受传统的EAL课程，随后进行类似类型的评估。比较他们的测试成绩的显著性，设定p<0.05。
总共进行了六次课程，两名教员（正畸学教授）各进行了两次课程，随后的两次课程由学生采用PAL方法进行（学生之前由教员培训过）。比较了教员教学和PAL相关教学中学生成绩的平均差异。观察到EAL组的表现明显优于PAL组（p<0.05）。
就测试成绩而言，PAL课程中的学业表现和整体学习情况不高于EAL组。尽管如此，在当前许多医学和牙科学院因疫情而采用的情况下，PAL可作为教员同步教学远程呈现的重要补充。关键词：同伴辅助学习、教育策略、专业发展、专家辅助学习、伦理审查委员会、基于团队的学习。
