Hasan Salman Siddiqi, Rehana Rehman, Farzeen Fatma Syed, Russell Seth Martins, Muhammad Talal Ibrahim, Faiza Alam.
Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL): an innovation aimed at engaged learning for undergraduate medical students..
J Pak Med Assoc Jan ;70(11):1996-2000.

To evaluate the effectiveness of Peer Assisted Learning in teaching at undergraduate level and to assess its effects on Peer Leaders and Peer Learners. The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Aga Khan University, Karachi, from May to October 2017, and comprised Peer Learners who were trained by faculty members in workshops and pre-run of experiments. Students were divided into two groups; Group A had Peer Learners taught by Peer Leaders, and Group B had those taught by trained lab technologists. Knowledge of the groups was assessed by a quiz using Kahoot. Post-session feedback questionnaires were also filled by the participants. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. There were 10 Peer Leaders with a mean age of 19.5±0.85 years, and 62 Peer Learners with a mean age of 19.08±0.81 years. Among the learners, there were 35(56.5%) males and 27(43.5%) females. Post-session assessment showed a significant difference in the test performance by the two groups (p<0.05). Feedback indicated that the learners found Peer Leaders more accessible than lab staff, leading to enhanced understanding of the subject. Peer-Assisted Learning was found to promote learning by creating an informal student-friendly learning environment.

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