Learning in small groups

Learning in small groups is a sort of halfway house, involving active learning, or more precisely interactive learning. Too many people still consider that unless material is passed on from professor to student or consultant to trainee in a formal lecture, it would not be learnt properly. This chapter aims to challenge that assumption and to provide some ideas and suggestions, backed up by theory and the available evidence, for getting the most out of the small group learning experience. In the early years, case-based learning may not relate to real patients but to paper-based patients or virtual patients. The most sophisticated of this type of case-based learning is problem-based learning. Another small group learning approach is team-based learning.Clinical skills are also taught in small groups. Role play, teaching ward round, and Team Objective Structured Bedside Assessment or TOSBA, are also discussed.