Teaching Medical Students to Teach: A Narrative Review and Literature-Informed Recommendations for Student-as-Teacher Curricula

Purpose Medical students play an important role as teachers. This narrative review synthesizes the student-as-teacher (SaT) literature that incorporates formal teaching skills training, with the goal of proposing literature-informed recommendations for SaT curriculum development within the context of competency-based medical education. Method In January and August 2020, the authors searched Medline and Embase and conducted forward citation searches in Scopus to identify articles from 1985 to 2020 related to teaching medical students to teach. Search terms included "student(s) as teacher(s)," "near-peer teaching," and "teaching to teach." The findings from selected articles were summarized and synthesized. Results Forty-three articles met the inclusion criteria: 33 papers describing specific SaT curricula, 3 literature reviews, 6 stakeholder surveys, and 1 Delphi study. While students often engage in teaching roles, formal teaching skills training is not always provided. Existing curricula are usually optional, delivered as short courses, and offered to senior students. Course content commonly includes topics related to planning and delivering learning activities and providing feedback. Of the numerous teaching modalities employed, students indicate a preference for interactive and experiential learning. Methods used to assess students' teaching skills vary; however, direct observation and feedback are valued assessment methods. Program evaluations have shown positive outcomes, including high student satisfaction and enhanced self-confidence as teachers. Conclusions Informed by these findings and outcome-based educational frameworks, the authors suggest 4 guiding principles for SaT curricula: (1) teaching skills training should be formally implemented in undergraduate medical education and should, whenever possible, be compulsory; (2) teaching skills should be taught longitudinally and progressively along the undergraduate to postgraduate continuum; (3) curriculum content should be aligned with a school's preexisting curriculum and local context; and (4) authentic opportunities for students to engage in teaching roles should be included. They also propose recommendations for curriculum content, teaching modalities, and assessment methods.