Introduction
“You’ve got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going
because you might not get there” Yogi Berra
Most of us have studied and worked for many years developing and refining our scientific and medical expertise. However, expertise alone does not guarantee effective teaching. Skilled educational planners understand the context of their teaching/learning situations. They are able to make visible the spatial and temporal relationships and the internal logic of a subject. Their educational planning includes attention to dynamic connections to other related areas of knowledge. Effective planners choose interesting and creative approaches that help learners gain access to difficult and new ideas. They plan for the continued growth and development of learners.
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Specific Outcomes
At the end of the Course, participants will be more skilled educational planners as demonstrated by their ability to: Describe and write clear learning outcomes and objectives
- Describe and write clear learning outcomes and objectives
- Use blueprints to plan educational activities
- Match assessments with desired learning outcomes and objectives
- Plan multiple educational approaches (large-group, small-group, one-to-one learning, etc.) to achieve desired outcomes and objectives
- Select visual aids for clarity and usefulness
- Utilize effective applications of learning technologies
- Plan teaching/learning in different venues (classroom, laboratory, ambulatory/outpatient setting, at the bedside, in the community)
- Review and revise educational plans regularly
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Outline of Topics: Effective Teacher
- The Phases of Medical Education
Undergraduate
Graduate
Continuing/permanent education
- Curriculum/Course Planning
Social accountability
Defining learning outcomes
Assessing learning outcomes
Creating learning environments
Choosing educational strategies & methods
Selecting & integrating content
Evaluating course/curriculum
- Planning educational resources
Developing learning guides/syllabi & other learning aids
Using technology (computers, simulations, models, etc.)
Planning laboratories, practicals, other
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Case Studies
Case Study: “Revising the Curriculum”
Caremore Medical University had decided it was time to change its curriculum. A recent national report by a task force of the best medical educators in the country had recommended that all schools review and revise their undergraduate medical curriculum. They suggested increasing the amount of student-centered, small-group active learning; adding more early and sustained clinical experience; and increasing time devoted to family and community health. They also recommended that assessment processes be well matched to defined learning outcomes.
Sven sat in his office reading the letter he had received from Dean Richey. He was invited, along with ten other faculty members, to form a task force to study the issues and problems in the curriculum at Caremore Medial University and propose a process and direction for future changes.
Sven had been a member of the school Curriculum Committee and served on several educational task forces. He had some ideas about what was needed. His best friend, Kirsten, with whom he gone to medical school, was a member of the medical faculty at a sister school in the same city. Her school had recently undergone a curriculum change. Perhaps it would be a good idea to call her. “What should I ask her?” Sven pondered.
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Study Guide: Skilled Educational Planner
The Phases of Medical Education
3.00 Undergraduate
- To what extent are there clear statements of expectations, learning outcomes and objectives for all parts of the curriculum?
- What is the balance between learner- and teacher-centered education?
- To what extent are multiple learning methods part of the curriculum?
- To what extent is there early and sustained clinical experience for students?
- How is the balance between learning in different venues (ambulatory, hospital, community, other)?
- What is the relationship between the community, family health and the curriculum?
- To what extent are students involved in the planning and management of the curriculum?
- How are technology and information management incorporated into the curriculum?
- To what extent are scholarship, research and service part of the curriculum?
3.10 Graduates
- How are formative and summative assessment used?
- To what extent are graduates responsible for teaching each other? Undergraduates? Patients?
3.20 Permanent Education (Continuing Professional Development)
- How were permanent education needs assessed?
- How was the focus of the educational sessions determined?
- Describe the relationship between objectives, assessment and learning?
- How were the individual sessions and course evaluated?
Curriculum Planning
3.30 Social Accountability
- What is the evidence that the curriculum serves the needs of society?
- What is the relationship among curriculum, governance and social accountability?
- How was social accountability of the curriculum determined, implemented and sustained?
3.40 Defining Learning Outcomes
- What processes were used to define learning outcomes?
- How and to what extent were learning outcomes linked to curriculum planning and development?
- How and to what extent were assessment methods and practices matched with desired learning outcomes, competencies and objectives?
3.50 Creating a Learning Environment
- To what extent was the learning environment student and/or teacher-centered?
- To what extent were key educational concepts and principles of the curriculum shared and understood by all concerned?
- To what extent and how was integration planned, implemented, assessed and evaluated?
- How were different educational approaches (outcome-based learning, problem-based learning, team learning, individual learning, multi-professional learning, etc.) matched to educational concepts, curriculum guidelines, desired learning outcomes, competencies and objectives?
- How was learning content planned, implemented and reviewed?
- To what extent and how was the curriculum modified as a result of evaluation?
3.60 Assessing Learning Outcomes
- To what extent was assessment planned before learning methods were selected?
- What were the key considerations and criteria used to plan and select different types of assessments?
- How and to what extent did consideration of validity and reliability of assessments take place during planning and preparation not after results were obtained?
- To what extent were formative and summative assessment part of the curriculum?
- How were standards for assessment determined?
3.70 Choosing & Planning Educational Strategies and Methods
- How were different educational/learning strategies introduced and integrated into the curriculum (outcome-based, problem-based, multi-professional, independent, web-based, community-based, peer-assisted, distance learning, other)?
- What was the relationship between educational strategies, learning outcomes and objectives?
- How did participants learn about new educational strategies?
- To what extent were assessments consistent with teaching/learning methods?
- What educational strategies were similar and different for learning the sciences basic to medicine and for learning clinical medicine in different settings (tertiary, secondary, primary, community)
3.80 Selecting and Integrating Content (& Experiences)
- To what extent was there a shared understanding of integration among teachers and students?
- To what extent was content selected within and/or across disciplines?
- How did teachers in other areas of the curriculum learn about and work with related content?
- To what extent did assessments support and reinforce integration?
- To what extent was there unplanned and planned redundancy in the curriculum/course/unit?
3.90 Programme/Curriculum/Course Evaluation
- How were teaching/learning and the curriculum evaluated?
- What is the plan for implementing changes as a result of evaluation?
- To what extent did students participate in the planning and implementation of the course and curriculum evaluation?
- To what extent is peer evaluation part of the evaluation?
Planning Educational Resource
3.100 Developing Learning Guides/Syllabi/Handouts
- To what extent were guidelines, templates, examples and expertise available to help teachers plan and develop learning resources?
- How were educational resources used to facilitate learning?
- How was the effectiveness of resources evaluated?
- What, if any, training and support was needed for effective use of resources?
3.110 Using Technology
- What unique contribution did technology add to the learning experiences?
- How was equity of access to resources provided?
- To what extent were computers and other technology used for assessment?
- How, if at all, were simulations incorporated into the teaching/learning/assessment?
3.120 Planning Laboratories, Practical Experiences
- What was educationally unique about laboratory and other practical experiences?
- How was assessment linked to learning experiences?
- To what extent was learning self-directed, teacher-facilitated, teacher-directed?
- How was equity of access to learning and other practical experiences assured?
Managing the Curriculum
3.130 Communicating About the Curriculum
- What different forms of media were used to communicate about the curriculum?
- How often did communication occur?
3.140 Working with Students
- What significant role did students have in the development and critique of the class, course, module, unit, curriculum?
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Resource Material
AMEE Education Guide No 14 |
Outcome based education |
AMEE Education Guide No 15 |
PBL |
AMEE Education Guide No 20 |
Roles of the teacher |
Occasional paper 3 |
Glossary of medical education terms |
AMEE Education Guide BEME 1 |
Best Evidence Medical Education |
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Harden, R.M. (2000). The integration ladder: a tool for curriculum planning and evaluation. Medical Education 34: 551-557
http://hsc.unm.edu/SOM/TED Multiple teaching resources for all types of teaching from the Office of Teacher and Educational Development, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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