Conversation Starter: Advancing the Theory of Peer-Assisted Learning

AbstractThis Conversation Starter article uses four selected abstracts, one each from the four regional Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group on Educational Affairs (CGEA) 2018 spring meetings, as a springboard for unpackingthe definition of peer-assisted learning ( PAL). The aim of this article is to prompt deeper reflection on this phenomenon and, in so doing, to foster scholarly program evaluationof this widely adopted instructional approach. This analysis calls for a more nuanced definition of PAL, one that emphasizes process over structure, one that stimulates examination of “doing” PALand how this affects the personal and professional development of all involved.