Remote & Online Teaching
Because teaching on Zoom is 90% preparation and 10% praying the Wi-Fi holds.
Online teaching is now a permanent part of GP training — not a temporary fix. Whether you are running a half-day release session, a one-to-one tutorial, or a whole-programme webinar, this page gives you everything you need to do it well.
📥 Downloads
Handouts, summaries, and teaching extras — ready when you are. Useful for preparing sessions or sharing with colleagues before a remote teaching event.
🌐 Web Resources
A hand-picked mix of platform guides, inspiring educators, and practical teaching tools. Because sometimes the best teaching ideas are not in any official document.
Inspiring Educators — Video Channels
Platform Help & Guides
- Zoom Help Centre — official support documentation for all Zoom features
- Microsoft Teams Help — official Microsoft support for Teams in education
- Blackboard Collaborate — moderator guide including breakout rooms and features
- Blackboard Collaborate — summary video (from Pennine / Bradford VTS)
- Blackboard Collaborate — introduction to the platform (video)
- Blackboard Collaborate — how to run a teaching session (short film)
Interactive & Engagement Tools
- Mentimeter — polls, word clouds, and quizzes in real time
- Padlet — beautiful collaborative boards for ideas and discussion
- Kahoot — game-based quizzes that learners genuinely enjoy
- Nearpod — interactive learning hub for session materials
- Random Name Picker — fun tool for inviting contributions without singling people out
- HeyHi Online Whiteboard — collaborative whiteboard for Android and Apple devices
- Google Forms tutorial — create real-time polls and questionnaires with ease
⚡ Quick Summary — If You Only Read One Section
Five minutes before your first Zoom session? Start here.
Test your tech before the session, not during it. Five minutes of prep saves thirty minutes of embarrassment.
Let people in as they arrive. Chat, greet, warm up. Don't hold everyone in a waiting room until the last person turns up.
Show learning objectives early. Return to them during and after the session so learners track their progress.
Attention fades fast online. Use a question, poll, breakout, or chat prompt at least every ten minutes.
Regular breaks matter online more than in person. People are staring at screens — give them a moment to breathe.
Summarise, check understanding, thank people, and close warmly. Don't just say "right, that's it" and vanish.
Remote teaching became mainstream during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it did not go away when surgeries reopened. Half-day release sessions, tutorials, grand rounds, and even one-to-one supervision now routinely happen on screen. For GP trainers and TPDs, this is simply part of the job.
The challenge is that teaching online is not the same as teaching in person. The social cues are missing. Attention is harder to hold. Technical glitches are mortifying. And the quiet learner who would normally catch your eye in a room is now invisible behind a muted camera.
The good news: with a small number of deliberate techniques, online teaching can be just as engaging — and sometimes more so — than face-to-face. This page gives you those techniques.
💡 The Key Insight
The biggest mistake trainers make is treating an online session like an in-person one and just delivering it through a camera. Online teaching requires its own design. The good news: it is not complicated. It just needs intentional planning.
These insights come from peer-reviewed GP education research — not just from common sense. They are specific to UK GP training, and they are worth knowing.
What We Know — A Hierarchy of Online Learning Insights
Online training can be as effective as face-to-face — when it is designed properly. A review of 14 studies concluded online training is equally effective for increasing knowledge and improving clinical practice in medical professionals. The design is everything.
Online training must "engage and empower learners for the learning to be applied in the real world." An online session that fails to engage is worse than no session — it wastes people's time and leaves a negative impression of learning itself.
Near-peer teaching brings "mutual benefits for clinical trainees and the students they teach." When trainees teach each other — even in small group case discussions — both sides learn more deeply than from a lecture alone.
Research from Shropshire VTS found that trainees consistently want "clinical context" — sessions that connect to real GP consultations. Abstract topics with no visible link to daily practice produce poor engagement online and in person.
When trainees are involved in designing the HDR programme, feedback scores improve and attendance is better. Multiple UK schemes — Derby, Shropshire, Bradford — have moved to a model where trainees co-design or lead sessions. It works.
⏱ The Attention Span Reality
Most people's concentration span ranges from five to twenty minutes. This is not a personal failing — it is human neuroscience. Teaching that ignores this is not just boring; it is biologically fighting a losing battle.
Relative attention level during a passive online session. After 20 minutes without interaction, most learners are running on habit rather than genuine focus.
💡 The Practical Rule
The BJGP advises varying your teaching every five to twenty minutes using role-play, quizzes, and brainstorming exercises. Online, this rule becomes even more important. Design interaction into your session at least every fifteen minutes — not as a nice extra, but as a structural necessity.
🌍 A Special Note for IMGs in Online Sessions
International Medical Graduates (IMGs) make up a significant proportion of UK GP trainees. Online sessions create specific challenges and opportunities for this group that are worth understanding.
🟣 What IMGs Often Find Harder Online
- Reading subtle group dynamics without visual cues
- Following fast-paced group discussion in a second language
- Feeling confident enough to speak up in a group they do not yet know
- Understanding UK-specific humour, idioms, and cultural references
- Time zone challenges if working odd patterns or joining from abroad
🟣 What Helps IMGs Thrive Online
- Being called on directly — with warmth — rather than waiting to be noticed
- Chat box as an alternative channel to speak without interrupting
- Small breakout groups where it feels safer to contribute
- Explicit explanation of UK NHS context and terminology
- Facilitators who check in privately if an IMG seems withdrawn
- Written materials shared in advance so content is familiar before the session
📖 Research Note
A 2024 national survey of GP trainers and trainees found that IMGs from outside the EEA were actually more positive about workplace-based assessment than their UK-trained peers. But this does not mean online teaching feels equally accessible — it often requires extra deliberate effort from facilitators to ensure full inclusion.
The tips below come from the lived experience of UK GP trainees, TPDs, and educational leads across multiple UK training schemes — distilled into clear, practical guidance. They have been verified against RCGP and NHS England guidance and do not conflict with any official advice.
🎓 What UK GP Trainees Actually Want From Online Sessions
Based on feedback gathered across UK VTS schemes and educational research, trainees consistently ask for the same things. These are not unreasonable demands — they are good pedagogy.
Show us how this applies in a real GP consultation, not just as theory.
We learn more talking to each other than being lectured at. Give us time to discuss.
Tell us when something is directly relevant to the AKT or SCA. We need that anchor.
Let us be honest about what we find hard, without fear of being judged.
Not four hours of lecturing. Mix it up. We have already seen three patients today.
Involve us in designing the programme. When we own it, we show up for it.
💡 The Research Behind This
A Shropshire VTS study found that when trainees were involved in course design, given flipped learning resources, and placed in peer-facilitated small groups, feedback improved markedly — and the model transitioned smoothly to online delivery during the pandemic. The lesson is clear: ownership drives engagement.
🧠 What Experienced GP Educators Say Actually Works Online
Gathered from UK GP schools, deanery guidance, and experienced TPDs across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
✅ Use Names — Liberally
The NHS East of England blended learning team specifically highlights that seeing names in the participant list is one of Zoom's unique advantages. Use it. Ask questions by name. People respond immediately when they hear their own name — it is one of the cheapest engagement tools available.
✅ Limit to Two Lectures Per Session
NHS HEE East of England guidance is clear: avoid more than two lectures in a single online morning or afternoon session. Lecturing online is exhausting for everyone. Spread content across the week or month where you can.
✅ Try the Digital Pen
Zoom and Teams both have interactive whiteboards. A digital pen lets you draw, annotate, and explain in real time — exactly like a flip chart, but without fighting for the lid of the marker. Participants can annotate too, which creates genuine interactivity.
✅ Show the Rules at the Start
Screen-share a "ground rules" slide at the very beginning of every session. This takes 90 seconds and prevents thirty minutes of friction later. Schemes like Scarborough and York both emphasise this in their HDR guidance.
✅ Send Pre-Reading — But Keep It Short
The flipped learning model — where trainees engage with material before the session — works well in GP training. The key word is short. A five-minute video or a single-page summary is brilliant. A 40-page PDF is not.
✅ Invite Evaluation After Every Session
Bradford VTS and York both build this in as standard. A two-question survey after each session — what worked? what would you change? — costs minutes and gives you priceless insight. A SurveyMonkey template takes five minutes to create.
❌ What Trainees Say Fails Them in Online Sessions
These patterns appear repeatedly in trainee feedback from across UK VTS schemes. They are not criticisms of any one programme — they are common, fixable patterns.
Passive, Lecture-Heavy Sessions
Being talked at for three hours with no interaction is the most common complaint. Trainees come to HDR after a clinical morning — they arrive tired. A passive lecture drains what little energy remains.
No Connection to Real GP Work
Abstract teaching that does not connect to GP consultations, MRCGP, or the daily realities of training feels like wasted time. Trainees consistently say: "Show me why this matters in clinic."
Tech Problems Not Fixed in Advance
Spending the opening of a session troubleshooting someone's microphone or screen share destroys energy and trust. Trainees notice. They remember. And it shapes how they view the rest of the session.
Not Being Heard in Discussions
Online discussions are easily dominated by a few confident voices. Quieter trainees — particularly those who are new to the UK system — can feel invisible. This is not acceptable, and good facilitation prevents it.
Running Significantly Over Time
Trainees have families, studies, and the next clinical session to prepare for. Running over time is widely reported as disrespectful. The Gwent and South Powys VTS handbook makes a specific point of this in its HDR guidance.
Missing the Social Glue
Multiple UK schemes noted after COVID that trainees missed the informal connections made at in-person HDR. The networking, the corridor conversations, the sense of being a cohort together. Online sessions must work harder to build this deliberately.
Almost every UK training scheme now uses a blend of online and face-to-face sessions. Understanding how to design for this hybrid model is an essential skill for TPDs, trainers, and trainees who lead sessions.
The Spectrum of Delivery — From Fully Online to Fully In-Person
⭐ Most UK GP schemes now operate somewhere in the middle of this spectrum — and that is where the design challenge lies.
🔄 The Flipped Learning Model — A Proven Approach for GP Training
The flipped classroom model has been used with documented success in UK GP training. Instead of using session time to deliver information, that information is shared before the session — leaving the session itself free for discussion, application, and reflection.
Nothing — trainees arrive cold
Lecture — content delivered by expert
Trainees left to apply it alone
Short video, reading, or task — trainees arrive primed
Discussion, application, case-based learning, peer reflection
Reflection logged in FourteenFish ePortfolio
💡 Why This Works So Well in GP Training
GP trainees are doctors with full clinical schedules. They learn best through discussion and application — not passive listening. When content arrives before the session and the session becomes a space to think and talk, engagement and learning both improve. The Shropshire VTS found this "facilitated high-level small group reflection" even when sessions moved online.
🤔 Which Sessions Work Online? Which Need the Room?
Not everything translates well to an online setting. Use this guide when planning your programme.
| Session Type | Online? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Didactic lecture / knowledge update | ✅ Yes | Works well online. Pre-record or live — both effective. |
| Small group case discussion (PBL-style) | ✅ Yes | Excellent in breakout rooms with a clear case and task. |
| MRCGP exam preparation (AKT/SCA advice) | ✅ Yes | Works well online — often preferred for flexibility. |
| Balint groups / reflective practice | ⚠️ Partly | Can work online if the group knows each other. Harder to build trust on screen with a new group. |
| Simulated patient / consultation skills practice | ⚠️ Partly | Possible via video, but non-verbal cues are missed. Face-to-face is better for early learning. |
| Practical clinical skills (e.g., joint injection, coil fitting) | ❌ No | Hands-on learning requires physical presence. Online theory can complement but not replace it. |
| Pastoral / welfare check-ins (PEAS-style) | ⚠️ Consider | Some trainees prefer face-to-face for sensitive conversations. Hybrid options can help. |
| Trainee-led presentations | ✅ Yes | Works well online with screen sharing. Good practice for remote consulting too. |
| Creative arts / humanities sessions | ⚠️ Consider | Can work with the right tools, but physical shared creativity is often more powerful. |
Note: The Gwent and South Powys VTS emphasise that trainees miss out on networking and practical hands-on learning when sessions are fully online — a good reminder that hybrid is usually better than fully remote.
Think of your session in four clear phases. Each phase has a purpose — and skipping any one of them is where things go wrong.
Session Timeline at a Glance
🌅 Before the Session — Prepare Properly
- Test your microphone, camera, and Wi-Fi before the day — not five minutes before
- Open all documents, slides, and links you plan to use in advance
- Choose a professional, uncluttered background (not your bedroom)
- Consider sending pre-session material: a short handout, a video, a reflection prompt
- Send the meeting link with clear instructions, especially for anyone less tech-confident
- Check your lighting — a lamp behind your screen is a simple trick that makes a real difference
👋 Opening — Welcome and Warm Up
- Let people into the session as they arrive — don't hold everyone in a waiting room
- Open the chat box and encourage people to say hello
- Build a few minutes of genuine chatter before you begin — this matters more online than in person
- State your aims and learning outcomes early — share them on screen
- Set the ground rules for the session (see Ground Rules section below)
- Run a quick icebreaker or warm-up activity to get everyone engaged from the start
💡 During — Teach, Engage, Energise
- Vary your delivery — mix short bursts of teaching with activities, polls, and discussion
- Invite participation actively: ask questions, use polls, use breakout rooms
- Watch the chat box — some learners prefer to contribute there rather than speaking
- Come back to your learning objectives during the session to show progress
- Take regular breaks — at least every 45 minutes, ideally more often
- Use only tools that genuinely add value — complexity for its own sake loses people
🏁 Closing — End with Purpose
- Summarise the session: what did we cover? what were the key messages?
- Return to your learning objectives — have they been met?
- Invite final questions before officially closing
- Thank participants genuinely — people are giving their time
- Close on time. Always. Running over is disrespectful and exhausting
- Never abruptly say "right, that's it, bye" — give the session a proper, warm ending
🔁 After — Reflect and Follow Through
- Share any promised resources promptly — within 24 hours is ideal
- Ask for brief feedback if appropriate
- Take two minutes to note what worked well and what you would change
- Your FourteenFish ePortfolio is a good place to record reflections on teaching
These are the habits that separate a forgettable online session from one people actually talk about afterwards.
Prepare Your Tech in Advance
Check your microphone, camera, and Wi-Fi before the session day — not in the five minutes before you go live. Have all your documents, slides, and links open before learners arrive. Opening folders in front of the group is a fast way to lose their attention.
💡 Good Wi-Fi is non-negotiable. If yours is unreliable, use a wired connection or a mobile hotspot as backup.
Choose Your Setting Thoughtfully
Pick a quiet, tidy, professional space. Avoid your bedroom if possible — it sends an unintentional message about how seriously you are taking the session. Reduce distractions behind you. Good lighting in front of your face (a lamp behind your screen works well) makes an immediate difference to how you are perceived.
Set and Revisit Your Aims
Start with a clear slide or document showing your aims and learning outcomes. Return to these at regular points during the session so learners can see where they are in the journey. This is not just good pedagogy — it gives people a cognitive anchor that reduces the sense of drifting that can happen in long online sessions.
Simple Tools First
Resist the temptation to use every shiny new tool available. Complex technology impresses nobody if it fails mid-session. Use tools only when they genuinely enhance the learning. A well-run poll or a lively breakout room beats a technically impressive but confusing set of features.
One new tool per session is a useful rule of thumb if you're still building confidence.
Build In Regular Breaks
Online sessions are cognitively tiring. Learners are concentrating on a screen with fewer of the natural movement and social cues that make a physical room feel energising. Break every 45 minutes at minimum. Breakout room activities count as a mental break for the facilitator too — use them strategically.
Create a Welcoming Environment
Notice the quiet people. Not everyone speaks up in online settings — some people find video calls more anxiety-inducing than a physical room. Use the chat box as a parallel channel for people who prefer to contribute in writing. Ask open questions and invite specific individuals by name, with warmth not pressure.
Consider Pre-Session Material
Sending a short PDF, a video clip, or a reflection prompt before the session primes learners and makes the session itself more productive. The group arrives with something already in their minds, and you can build on that rather than starting from zero.
Finish On Time — or Early
If your content genuinely only needs two hours but you have three booked — use two. People will thank you. Running over signals poor planning and disrespects everyone's schedule. A tight, well-paced session leaves learners feeling energised. A drawn-out one leaves them feeling drained.
Temper the Discussion Well
Online discussions can go in two directions: dead silence or one person talking endlessly. Watch for both. Use the host controls to manage turn-taking. Gently redirect conversations that are going nowhere. Frame discussions with a clear question and a time limit so they remain focused.
Close With Intention
End every session with a proper summary, a check on the objectives, and a warm goodbye. "Hope that was useful, bye" is not a closing — it is an abrupt eviction. Even two minutes spent closing properly leaves a lasting impression of care and professionalism.
Keeping Learners Engaged — At a Glance
| Technique | What It Does | Best Used When… | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakout Rooms | Small group discussion or tasks | You want peer learning; group is 6 or more | Zoom, Teams, Blackboard |
| Live Poll | Instant opinions or knowledge check | Starting a topic; checking understanding | Mentimeter, Kahoot, Zoom Polls |
| Collaborative Board | Visual idea sharing | Brainstorms, case discussions | Padlet, HeyHi Whiteboard |
| Chat Box | Parallel written discussion | Always — encourage its use throughout | All platforms |
| Screen Annotation | Mark up shared content live | Reviewing a document or image together | Zoom, Teams |
| Quiz Game | Gamified knowledge recall | Checking recall at end of session | Kahoot, Nearpod |
| Shared Google Doc | Collaborative writing in real time | Group note-taking; action planning | Google Workspace |
| Random Name Picker | Invite contributions fairly | When silence falls and nobody volunteers | classtools.net |
Zoom fatigue is not just tiredness. It is a specific kind of mental exhaustion that comes from sustained video calls. Understanding why it happens helps you design sessions that actively prevent it.
Why Online Sessions Are More Tiring Than In-Person Ones
Looking at a grid of faces requires sustained focus that never happens naturally in a room. Your brain works hard — and it shows.
Seeing your own face on screen creates self-consciousness. It drains cognitive energy. Tip: use "Hide Self View" once you have checked your framing.
In a room, you read bodies, posture, and movement. Online, those signals are gone. Your brain compensates — and spends extra energy doing so.
The brain is constantly suppressing the urge to respond to home stimuli — the doorbell, the child, the phone notification. This takes effort even when nothing happens.
Compressed audio is subtly harder to process than direct speech. Small delays, audio drops, and background noise all add up over a long session.
In-person sessions involve walking to a room, grabbing a coffee, moving to a different seat. Online, you sit in the same spot for three hours. The body suffers and so does the mind.
✅ Anti-Fatigue Design Strategies — Practical and Proven
These strategies come from educational research and from the experience of GP training schemes across the UK. They are simple, and they make a real difference.
☕ Build In a Proper Break Every 45 Minutes
Not a two-minute camera-off pause. A real five-to-ten minute break where people can stand up, make a drink, and leave the screen entirely. Set a timer and enforce it.
🔀 Change the Format Every 15 Minutes
Switch between lecture, discussion, poll, breakout, and chat prompt at least every quarter of an hour. Variety is not a nice-to-have — it is the main tool against fatigue.
🪞 Tell People to Hide Their Self-View
Watching yourself on screen throughout a session is tiring and distracting. Once people have checked their framing, encourage them to select "Hide Self View" in the Zoom/Teams menu.
🏃 The "Go Find Something" Activity
A creative break strategy: ask participants to go find an object relevant to the topic — or just their favourite mug — and come back to show it. It sounds silly. It works brilliantly. Movement plus laughter resets energy fast.
🌐 Camera Off Moments Are Fine
During breakout discussions or individual tasks, tell people it is fine to turn the camera off for a few minutes. The psychological relief of not being watched is real and welcome.
⏱ Shorter Sessions Are Better Sessions
NHS HEE East of England guidance is explicit: avoid long days of lectures online — they are taxing and ineffective. If your content only needs two hours, use two hours. Do not fill three just because the slot is three.
Different deaneries and training programmes use different platforms. Here is a concise guide to the three most common ones in UK GP training.
🎥 Zoom
The most widely used platform for online teaching sessions. Intuitive, reliable, and full of useful features.
- Breakout rooms for small group work
- Screen sharing and annotation
- Built-in polling (Pro licence)
- Chat box for parallel discussion
- Recording to cloud or local storage
- Reactions and hand-raise buttons
- Virtual backgrounds for privacy
- Whiteboard collaboration
📋 Microsoft Teams
Integrated into NHS Office 365. Excellent for ongoing programme communication as well as live sessions.
- Persistent channels for programme groups
- Breakout rooms with pre-assignment
- Screen sharing and live captions
- Files and resources shared in channels
- Together Mode (fun for larger groups)
- Integration with OneNote and SharePoint
- Meeting recording within Microsoft ecosystem
- Good mobile app experience
📚 Blackboard Collaborate
Purpose-built for educational institutions. Some deaneries use this as their main teaching platform.
- Virtual classroom design — built for teaching
- Breakout groups with easy management
- Polling, quizzes, and chat
- Content sharing and annotation
- Built-in whiteboard
- Session recording and playback
- Participant status indicators
- Accessible via web browser — no download needed
🔑 Which Platform Should You Use?
Use whichever platform your programme or deanery has standardised on — consistency matters more than features. If you have a free choice, Zoom and Teams are both excellent. The best platform is the one you have tested, know how to use, and can troubleshoot when things go wrong (because occasionally, they will).
These tools can transform a passive session into an active learning experience. Use them purposefully — one or two per session is usually enough.
Google Forms
Create real-time polls, questionnaires, and reflective surveys. Simple, familiar, and works on any device. Excellent for pre-session knowledge checks or post-session feedback.
FreeMentimeter
Polls, word clouds, and quizzes with beautiful live visual results. Free for basic use (one or two polls per presentation). The word cloud feature is especially good for opening discussions.
Free / FreemiumPadlet
Beautiful collaborative boards where learners can post ideas, images, links, or reflections. Excellent for case discussions, brainstorms, and capturing group wisdom. Free for basic boards.
Free / FreemiumKahoot
Game-based quizzes where learners compete in real time. Genuinely fun — and surprisingly effective at fixing information in memory. Best used at the end of a session for knowledge recall.
Free / FreemiumNearpod
An all-in-one hub where you can embed slides, videos, polls, and quizzes in a single learning flow. Learners follow along on their own devices. Great for structured session delivery.
Free / PaidRandom Name Picker
A simple, fun tool that randomly selects a participant's name. Useful when nobody volunteers to answer or contribute. Use for opinions and discussions — not high-stakes recall tasks.
FreeHeyHi Whiteboard
A collaborative online whiteboard accessible on both Android and Apple devices. Get learners to add to the board simultaneously. Excellent for visual brainstorms, concept maps, and diagrams.
FreeGoogle Docs / Slides
Shared documents that multiple people can edit at the same time. Use in breakout rooms to capture discussion points, or build a shared case summary during a teaching session.
FreeLoom / Recording
Record short video walkthroughs of teaching content for asynchronous learning. Learners can watch in their own time. Free for basic use. Excellent for pre-session primers.
Free / Freemium💡 Insider Tip — The Golden Rule of Tools
Every tool you add to a session is a potential point of failure. Only use a tool when you have tested it yourself, know how to troubleshoot it, and are genuinely confident it improves the learning — not just makes it look impressive. A live poll that nobody can access wastes five minutes and kills the session's energy.
A brief set of ground rules at the start of a session sets the right tone and reduces friction later. These are for both facilitators and attendees.
Share these with your learners at the start of every session — or better still, include them in your pre-session email.
Camera On Where Possible
Cameras help the facilitator read the room. If you cannot have your camera on, say why — connection or privacy are completely valid reasons.
Mute When Not Speaking
Background noise is the enemy of every online session. Mute by default and unmute to speak. It takes one second and makes a huge difference.
Use the Raise Hand Feature
Use the hand-raise button rather than talking over others. It keeps the conversation ordered without the awkwardness of multiple people starting at once.
The Chat Box is for Everyone
Use the chat for questions, reactions, and contributions. The facilitator will monitor it. It is a great channel for quieter participants to share ideas.
Arrive On Time
Try to be there a couple of minutes early. Late arrivals break the session's momentum and can be distracting, even when unavoidable.
Reduce Distractions
Close unnecessary tabs and applications. Turn off notifications. Give the session your full attention — you are not invisible just because you are on a screen.
Respect Confidentiality
Anything shared in the session stays in the session. Do not screenshot, record, or share content without explicit permission from the facilitator and group.
A Safe Learning Space
Treat this as you would a physical teaching room. Be respectful, be curious, and be kind. Different opinions are welcome — the goal is learning, not winning.
Your responsibilities as the person running the session.
Hold the Space
You set the tone. If the conversation goes somewhere inappropriate, it is your job to gently steer it back. Online disinhibition is real — people sometimes say things online they would not say in a room.
Watch the Quiet Ones
Some learners go completely silent online. Actively look for them. A gentle "would you like to add anything?" is often all it takes.
Manage Time Actively
Have a session plan with timings and stick to it. Open-ended discussions can eat sessions whole. Set a timer and move on gracefully.
Adapt on the Day
No session goes entirely to plan. Be willing to skip a section if time runs short, extend a discussion if it is producing real learning, and stay calm when tech misbehaves.
Soft rules that make online teaching feel more human and less transactional.
- Greet people as they enter — by name where possible. It matters.
- Look at your camera when speaking, not at your own image on screen. It reads as eye contact to viewers.
- Speak slightly more slowly and clearly than you would in person — audio compression affects nuance.
- Use people's names during discussion — it is energising and inclusive.
- Acknowledge contributions generously — "great point", "thanks for that", "that's really interesting" costs nothing.
- If someone is struggling with their tech, offer help without making them feel embarrassed.
- If you make a mistake, own it with good humour. Everyone will feel more relaxed immediately.
- Avoid checking your phone or reading emails on screen during the session. Yes, people can see you.
❌ Treating It Like an In-Person Session
The biggest single error. Delivering an unchanged in-person session through a camera does not work. Online teaching needs its own design — shorter teaching bursts, more interaction, different pacing.
❌ No Tech Check Beforehand
Spending the first ten minutes of a session troubleshooting your microphone in front of the group is not a good start. Test everything the day before. Then test it again on the morning.
❌ Talking Solidly for 45+ Minutes
Attention spans online are shorter than in person. If you are talking for more than 15 minutes without a pause for interaction, you have already lost half the room. Design in breaks, questions, and activities.
❌ Ignoring the Chat Box
Many learners use the chat as their primary channel for contributing. If you are not monitoring it, you are missing half your group's engagement. Ask a co-host to watch it, or check it regularly yourself.
❌ Overloading With New Tools
Introducing three new platforms in one session is overwhelming. Stick to one or two tools that you know well. Learners need to focus on the content, not on figuring out how to use an app they have never seen before.
❌ Running Over Time
People have commitments after your session. Clinics, pick-ups, their own patients. Running over is disrespectful. If you are pushed for time, cut content — not break time, and not the closing.
Many UK training schemes run peer support and reflection groups as part of HDR — known variously as PEAS (Peer Education and Support) groups, STiG (Specialty Trainee in GP) groups, or small group tutorials. These are often the sessions trainees value most — and they need extra care to work well online.
🔑 What Makes PEAS Groups Work Online
- Keep groups small — six to eight people maximum
- Use the same group consistently so trust builds over time
- Open with a low-stakes check-in: "One word about your week?"
- State confidentiality explicitly at the start of every session
- Let trainees set the agenda — what do they actually want to explore?
- A facilitator who is present but not dominant works best
⚠️ What Can Go Wrong
- Silence can feel much more uncomfortable online — wait it out
- Sensitive disclosures online need the same careful handling as in-person ones
- One dominant voice can fill the whole session — watch for this actively
- Trainees new to the group may hold back — reach out to them separately
- Technical problems mid-disclosure can be distressing — have a backup plan
- Confidentiality is harder to enforce online — remind people clearly
💡 The York VTS Insight — PEAS Groups Are "Really Valued by Trainees"
York GP Training Scheme describes their PEAS groups as "a safe space to explore problems, gather the opinions of colleagues and receive their support" — and notes that they are "really valued by trainees." This is the social glue that online sessions can otherwise lose. Protect this time. Do not let it become admin or exam prep.
Many UK training schemes — Derby, Bradford, Shropshire, Imperial — expect trainees to plan and lead HDR sessions, especially in ST2 and ST3. Running a session online for your peers is a great opportunity. It is also nerve-wracking. Here is what you need to know.
Step-by-Step: Planning Your First Online Teaching Session
Choose a topic you genuinely know something about
You do not need to be an expert. But you do need enough knowledge to guide a discussion. Pick something relevant to where you are in training — a challenging clinical case, an ethical dilemma, an MRCGP hot topic. Your peers will appreciate authenticity over performance.
Design for discussion, not delivery
Your job is not to lecture. Your job is to open a rich conversation and keep it going. Prepare three or four good questions rather than twenty slides. A great question is worth ten minutes of talking.
Send pre-reading — keep it to five minutes maximum
A single useful link, a short video, or a one-page case summary sent the day before makes your live session far richer. People arrive with thoughts already formed. Do not send a 30-page guideline — nobody will read it and you will start from nothing anyway.
Test the tech the day before — not five minutes before
Check your microphone, camera, screen share, and any tools you plan to use. If you are using a poll, create it and test it. If you are using a Padlet, make sure the link works. Technical problems are forgivable — unprepared technical problems are not.
Ask for feedback — and use it
Send a two-question survey at the end or ask the group directly. "What worked?" and "What would you change?" Record your own reflection in your FourteenFish ePortfolio. Teaching is a skill. It gets better with deliberate practice and honest feedback — just like consulting.
💡 Teaching Your Peers Helps You Too
Research consistently shows that near-peer teaching brings learning benefits for the person doing the teaching — not just those being taught. When you prepare to explain something to your peers, you deepen your own understanding of it. The act of teaching forces clarity. And GP training sessions are, as the BJGP notes, "a brilliant non-threatening environment to try out new teaching methods."
Online teaching in a clinical training context carries specific responsibilities around data, privacy, and confidentiality. These are not bureaucratic details — they have real consequences.
🔴 Recording — Get Consent First
You must obtain explicit, informed consent from all participants before recording a session. State clearly at the start — before recording begins — that the session will be recorded, and give people the option to opt out or turn off their camera. This is both a professional duty and a GDPR requirement. Consent must be freely given, specific, and unambiguous.
🔴 Patient Confidentiality in Case Discussions
Case discussions are central to GP learning. Online, they carry added risk. Never share identifiable patient information in a session that is being recorded, or on a platform without appropriate NHS-approved data security. Anonymise all case details sufficiently — names, ages, specific dates, and identifying combinations of features must all be changed or removed.
🟠 Use NHS-Approved Platforms for Clinical Content
Zoom, Teams, and Blackboard Collaborate all have NHS-appropriate configurations. However, the default consumer versions of some platforms may not meet NHS data security standards for clinical content. Check with your deanery or IT department if you are unsure which configuration to use. When in doubt — and especially for anything involving patient information — use the NHS-approved version of your deanery's chosen platform.
🟠 Confidentiality Within the Group
Trainees often share personal and professional difficulties in HDR peer support groups. Online, the risk of accidental disclosure is higher — screen sharing, notifications, or family members walking in can all compromise confidentiality. Remind the group explicitly at the start of each session: what is shared in this room stays in this room. This is not just good practice — it is the foundation of psychological safety.
✅ Good Practice Summary
- Always state whether a session is being recorded — before recording starts
- Always seek explicit consent before recording — never assume
- Anonymise all patient information used in case discussions
- Use NHS-approved platform configurations for clinical training
- Remind the group about confidentiality at the start of every peer support session
- If a recording is made, clarify who can access it, where it is stored, and when it will be deleted
Everything you need to remember, on one card. Ideal for new trainers running their first online session.
⭐ The Gold Standard Online Session — At a Glance
- ✓Test your microphone and camera
- ✓Open all documents and links
- ✓Send pre-session material
- ✓Confirm the meeting link works
- ✓Check your background and lighting
- ✓Let people in as they arrive
- ✓Open the chat — say hello
- ✓Share aims on screen
- ✓Set ground rules briefly
- ✓State recording status
- ✓Interact every 15 minutes
- ✓Watch the chat box
- ✓Use names when asking questions
- ✓Break every 45 min
- ✓Notice quiet participants
- ✓Summarise key messages
- ✓Revisit your aims
- ✓Close warmly — on time
- ✓Share resources within 24h
- ✓Reflect + log in FourteenFish
🟣 For Trainers and TPDs — Teaching This Topic
These pearls are specifically for those supervising or training others in the use of remote and online teaching.
- Encourage new trainers to observe an experienced facilitator running a session online before trying it themselves — shadow first, lead second
- A useful tutorial exercise: watch a recording of a recent session together and identify two things that worked well and one thing to change
- Trainers often underestimate how much more preparation is needed for an online session compared to an in-person one — build this expectation in early
- Discuss "Zoom fatigue" explicitly with trainees — it is real, and acknowledging it normalises the experience
- Encourage trainees to keep a brief log of each online session they deliver: what they tried, what worked, what they would do differently
- Reflections on teaching can be recorded in the FourteenFish ePortfolio as a professional development activity
- Common trainee blind spot: they focus entirely on content and forget to design for interaction. Ask: "when in this session will learners actually do something?"
📣 Tutorial Discussion Prompts
Use these questions in a tutorial or small-group discussion to deepen reflection on online teaching practice.
Reflection
Think of the best online session you have attended. What made it work? What could you borrow from it for your own teaching?
Challenge
What is your biggest anxiety about running an online session? How might you address that before you try it?
Design Exercise
Take a tutorial topic you know well. Redesign it specifically for an online format. What changes? What do you add? What do you remove?
The Quiet Room
How do you notice when a learner is disengaged or struggling in an online session? What do you do about it?
🧠 Memory Aid — The GREAT Framework for Online Sessions
Distilled from the experience of trainers and educators who have run hundreds of online sessions.
💡 The First Three Minutes Are Everything
If you do not create energy and warmth in the first three minutes of an online session, you spend the rest of it chasing engagement you will never fully recover. Start warm, not clinical.
💡 Ask Questions, Don't Just Pose Them
After asking a question in an online session, wait. The silence will feel uncomfortable. Count to five in your head. Someone will almost always speak — but only if you give them the space to do so.
💡 Breakout Rooms Change Everything
A well-designed breakout room task transforms passive listeners into active thinkers. Even five minutes in small groups followed by whole-group debrief creates more learning than fifteen minutes of lecture.
💡 The Chat Never Lies
Watch the chat to understand what the group is really thinking. Comments in the chat are often more candid than verbal responses, especially on controversial or sensitive topics.
💡 Pre-Session Material Pays Dividends
Even a one-minute video clip sent the day before primes learners beautifully. The session starts with a group that has already been thinking — and that energy is palpable from the first minute.
💡 Fatigue Is Real — Design Around It
Online sessions are more cognitively draining than in-person ones. Acknowledge this openly. Build shorter, sharper sessions where possible. If a topic genuinely needs three hours, split it across two sessions.
It is good practice to encourage cameras on — it helps the facilitator read the room and makes the group feel more connected. However, there are legitimate reasons to have the camera off: poor internet connection, privacy concerns, or caring for someone at home. Set the expectation clearly at the start, and normalise camera-off without making it awkward. Never demand cameras on or shame people for having them off.
This is one of the trickiest facilitation challenges online. Your best tools are: setting clear norms about the hand-raise feature at the start, using breakout rooms where turn-taking is more natural, directing specific questions to quieter voices ("I'd love to hear what X thinks about this"), and — if needed — a private chat message to the dominant person thanking them for their contributions and gently asking them to hold back to let others in.
Stay calm — this is the single most important thing. Have a backup plan: can you dial in by phone? Can the group wait two minutes? Share your phone number or email in the pre-session notes so participants can reach you if you drop. If a tool fails, acknowledge it with good humour and move on. The group will follow your lead. A facilitator who handles a tech failure gracefully is actually demonstrating excellent teaching skill.
Only record with explicit consent from all participants — and say so clearly at the start, giving people the chance to opt out or change their camera settings before recording begins. Recordings can be excellent for people who missed the session or for review. However, recording can inhibit discussion — people are more guarded on camera when they know a recording exists. Consider whether recording is genuinely useful for this specific session before defaulting to it.
The key is a clear, specific task with a defined output. Before sending people into rooms, say exactly: what they should discuss, what they should produce, and how long they have. "Discuss anything that comes up" almost never works. "Agree on three key risk factors for X and be ready to feed back in five minutes" almost always does. Visit the rooms yourself where possible to check progress and maintain energy. When people return, always debrief — this is where the learning gets consolidated.
Multiple strategies help: use the chat box (many quieter learners are active there), use anonymous polls so people can respond without speaking, call on them gently by name with a low-stakes question ("what's your initial reaction to this?"), and design small breakout room activities where they will naturally need to contribute in a more intimate group. Do not mistake silence for disengagement — some learners process privately and are fully present.
🏠 Final Take-Home Points
- Online teaching is a permanent part of UK GP training — not a phase that will pass. Design for it with as much care as you would for a face-to-face session.
- Preparation is everything. Test your tech the day before, send pre-reading in advance, and open all your files before the group arrives.
- The first three minutes set the tone for everything that follows. Open with warmth, welcome, and genuine energy.
- Interact every fifteen minutes. A poll, a question, a breakout room, a chat prompt — anything. Passive sessions lose people fast online.
- Zoom fatigue is real. Build in proper breaks, limit lectures, and tell people it is fine to hide their self-view.
- Trainees consistently say they want real clinical context, peer discussion, and a voice in planning the programme. Give them all three.
- The chat box is often where the most honest contributions live. Watch it throughout.
- Flipped learning — content before the session, discussion during it — works especially well in GP training. Even a single short video sent the day before makes a difference.
- Not everything belongs online. Practical skills, first-meeting pastoral care, and some reflective sessions are better face-to-face. Know which is which.
- Confidentiality, consent for recording, and patient anonymity are not optional extras. They are professional and legal requirements — online as much as anywhere else.
- Always close with a summary, a check on objectives, and a warm goodbye. End with the same care you started with.
- Finish on time. Non-negotiable. Trainees have families, studies, and the next clinical session to prepare for.
- Reflect after every session — and log it in your FourteenFish ePortfolio. Two minutes of honest reflection, sustained over a training year, compounds into genuinely excellent teaching.
📬 Share Your Resources
Have documents, tips, or tools you would like to share with the GP training community? Email them to Dr Ramesh Mehay at rameshmehay@googlemail.com and they may be added to this page for everyone to benefit from.