Microteaching and micro-change: a student-as-teacher curriculum.

PROBLEM: Near-peer and peer teaching play a central role in residency training, but few undergraduate curricula exist to prepare medical students to teach confidently. To address this gap, the authors designed and piloted a student-as-teacher microteaching curriculum. APPROACH: In 2021, a mandatory curriculum for students rotating on the three-month internal medicine clerkship was implemented at one Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospital. In week one of the clerkship, students participated in a 90-minute workshop, where they received a didactic on effectively giving talks and delivering feedback. They then divided into groups to deliver a five-minute talk and receive feedback. Students then sought opportunities to teach in the clerkship learning environment. In the final week of the clerkship, students delivered a revised talk that incorporated new teaching skills. OUTCOMES: From January to December 2021, 41 of 51 (80.39%) curriculum participants ("intervention group") and 21 of 103 (20.39%) peers who were randomly assigned to medicine clerkships at other Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals ("control group") completed pre- and post-questionnaires. Responses regarding confidence in teaching and confidence in giving peer feedback were recorded on 5-point Likert scales. Compared to the control group, students in the intervention group reported similar baseline confidence in teaching but demonstrated a significantly greater increase over three months (difference-in-difference ß=0.72; 95% CI 0.02-1.42). Students in the intervention group also reported similar baseline confidence in delivering peer feedback but showed greater gains after three months (ß=0.77; 95% CI 0.11-1.43). This curriculum effectively builds confidence in teaching and giving peer feedback and may promote participation in near-peer education in the future. NEXT STEPS: This microteaching curriculum has been integrated into the internal medicine clerkship and residency program. Future directions include adapting the curriculum to other clerkships and learning environments when students are geographically separated, as these workshops can be implemented virtually.