Organizing and Conducting Small Group Interactive Learning Sessions

Interactive teaching/learning is becoming more common in medical schools. Basic science teaching is often considered dry, uninteresting, and considered by students to be not ‘directly’ relevant to their future career as practicing doctors and healers. Interactive, small group learning requires basic knowledge of facilitation skills and group dynamics. Students work together in small groups to solve problems and study in a spirit of cooperation and teamwork. Students assume more responsibility for their own learning and teachers must relinquish some of the traditional authority and act more as facilitators. Selection of the case scenarios or problems is important as it sets the boundaries and defines the learning objectives. A detailed lesson plan and timeline for activities is important. Creating a safe and supportive environment where students can make mistakes and learn is important. Group dynamics is important and the flip chart can be an effective learning aid. Small group sessions can be conducted in resource limited settings in developing countries. Students must self-regulate themselves during entire process of learning. Conflicts and disagreements need to be acknowledged and resolved. Both formative and summative evaluation is recommended for small group learning and is usually done both by the facilitator and by peers.