RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Problem-based learning (PBL) tutorial are conducted in small groups, and successful learning in such groups requires good group facilitating skills. There is a lack of research on actual skills employed by tutors in facilitating the group dynamics. AIM: To explore the process of PBL tutorial small groups, focusing on the tutors' actual behavior in facilitating group dynamics. METHODS: Eight experienced tutors from various departments in medical colleges participated in this research. Forty tutorial group sessions were videotaped. Among the 636 tutorial intervention episodes, 142 of them were associated with facilitating group dynamics. Tutors interventions as well as their recalls were transcribed verbatim. Qualitative research methods were utilized to analyze the data. RESULTS: There were 10 tutorial group dynamic situations and 48 tutorial skills. Analysis of the tutors' intentions employing these skills in the 10 situations showed that tutors were trying to achieve the following aims: (1) iteration of PBL principles, (2) delegation of responsibility to the students, (3) creation of a good discussion forum, and (4) the generation of a good learning atmosphere. CONCLUSION: Results from this study provide PBL tutors with a practical frame of reference on group dynamic facilitating skills and stimulate further research on this topic.
Asunto(s)
Educación de Pregrado en Medicina/métodos , Docentes Médicos , Procesos de Grupo , Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas/métodos , Humanos , LiderazgoRESUMEN
PURPOSE: To appropriately contribute to group discussion, tutors should be experts in their field and possess facilitative skills. However, knowing when to interject is always a difficult question. This study investigated the specific scenarios or cues during group tutorial sessions that prompted or motivated tutors to interject and participate in the group discussion. METHOD: From 2005 through 2008, the authors, using the interpersonal process recall method, videotaped 40 tutorial discussions led by eight experienced tutors from the departments of medicine, nursing, and clinical psychology. The tutors were later shown the tapes and asked to explore their intentions and analyze the contexts for the 636 episodes in which they had intervened in the discussions. RESULTS: Qualitative analyses revealed three themes for the tutors' interventions: (1) Tutorial group process included 10 categories related to discussion sequence, students' roles, and group dynamics, (2) quality of discussion included nine categories related to clarity and accuracy of the information brought forward by the students, and relevance and critical appraisal of the information in relation to the major objectives, and (3) quality and quantity of the materials discussed included eight categories related to amount, datedness, accuracy, representativeness, and source (whether primary or secondary). CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide valuable insights into the contextual situations that lead problem-based learning tutors to intervene and provide material to build a framework for training new tutors.