title: Effects of expert and non-expert facilitators on the small-group process and on student performance.
abstract: At the University of Michigan Medical School in 1990, the authors investigated the effects of faculty facilitators' levels of content expertise on the educational process and learning outcomes of small-group teaching sessions. The study was conducted in a microbiology course for second-year students in which four small-group sessions were used to replace 38 hours of lecture and laboratory time. The interactions between 11 expert and ten non-expert faculty facilitators and 156 students were observed and coded. The students' levels of knowledge and satisfaction were measured. The results indicate that, although significant differences in faculty-student interactions were not observed, the students in the 11 groups led by the content experts had higher levels of satisfaction and higher examination scores.
authors.affiliation: Office of Educational Resources and Research, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor.
authors.forename: W K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nairn
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Paine
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Oh
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000592:standards*; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007858:Learning; D008824:Michigan; D008829:Microbiology / Q000193:education*; D011340:Problem Solving; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*