For many years, first year students on the undergraduate medicine course have had a non-credit-bearing module in the post exam period. This is the Group Poster Project.
The aim of the project is to allow students to take a deeper dive into topics they have encountered during their studies on the programme and to develop skills that they will need in their future careers.
Working in a group with peers helps spark students’ creativity and enthusiasm, provides an opportunity to continue developing teamwork skills, and is also more fun and motivating.
The students’ first activity is to post their poster topic ideas on to a Canvas discussion board and negotiate to agree a topic.
They then work on researching and designing the poster. We require the students to upload their posters to Canvas. We provide guidance on producing posters and, as this is the students first attempt, a template they can use.
Finally, the student groups present their posters to academic staff and peers.
Students receive feedback on their poster from both academic staff and from their fellow students, using Canvas.
A Group Poster Project Prize is awarded to the best poster, after ranking by the student groups and academic staff.
The group poster project also enables students to develop professional skills required in the GMC’s Outcomes for Graduates and the University’s graduate attributes