Collaborative Learning Communities With Medical Students as Teachers

Chenyi Yang; Konnor Davis; Michael Head; Nolan A Huck; Tyler Irani; Andrew Ovakimyan; Aaron Frank; Andrew Cuyegkeng; Lauren Stokes

doi:10.1177/23821205231183878

Collaborative Learning Communities With Medical Students as Teachers

J Med Educ Curric Dev. 2023 Jun 20:10:23821205231183878. doi: 10.1177/23821205231183878. eCollection 2023 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Chenyi Yang¹, Konnor Davis¹, Michael Head¹, Nolan A Huck¹, Tyler Irani¹, Andrew Ovakimyan¹, Aaron Frank¹, Andrew Cuyegkeng¹, Lauren Stokes¹

Affiliation

¹ School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.

Abstract

In recent years, peer-assisted learning has emerged as a new and effective medical education modality. Near-peer tutoring utilizes a senior student serving as an instructor to a junior student. In 2019, the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine (UCISOM) implemented a near-peer tutoring model beginning with first-year anatomy and physiology curricula. Following a successful pilot program, UCISOM launched a full-fledged near-peer tutoring program in 2020 named Collaborative Learning Communities (CLC) with Medical Students as Teachers. The rollout of CLC occurred in phases. In 2020, second-year medical students led the program for first-year students; in 2021, an additional program was led by third-year medical students for second-year students; in 2022, the program expanded to third-year medical students led by fourth-year students. Each program serves the unique learning needs of each student class, utilizing evidence-based teaching practices while allowing the opportunity for mentorship, interclass connectedness, and refinement of the tutor's teaching skills. In this paper, we describe the creation of CLC, its goals, leadership and curricular structure, and its various benefits, challenges, and limitations.

Keywords: medical education; medical student success; near peer tutoring; peer assisted learning.