IAMSE Pre-conference Workshop Highlights

Early Bird Registration Deadline: APRIL 1

The 19^th Annual IAMSE meeting is taking place from June 13^th through June 16^th, 2015. Saturday, June 13^th is a pre-conference and faculty development workshop day, and we would like to highlight some of the sessions for you. We look forward to seeing you in sunny San Diego!

Flipping the Classroom: Integrating Active Learning into the Curriculum

Presenters: John Szarek, Kathryn Huggett, William Jeffries

The one-hour lecture remains the traditional unit of medical education, particularly for the foundational sciences. However, it is generally agreed that most lectures limit engagement and therefore promote only “passive” learning and do not promote long-term retention. Medical educators have thus been investigating techniques to promote active learning, which promotes longer term retention and deeper understanding of scientific concepts. In active learning, the student often participates as a partner in the teaching and learning of the group as a whole. This approach is well-suited for the integration of basic and clinical sciences. A variety of active learning techniques, collectively known as “flipping” the classroom, have emerged as a way to expand the boundaries of learning within the confines of the traditional large group setting. After participating in this session, participants will be able to:

 1. Define active learning and explore barriers to active learning in health sciences teaching

2. Explain how active learning strategies can promote integration of basic and clinical sciences

3. Describe methods for introducing active learning into large group settings

4. Describe strategies for selecting and curating curricular content

5. Engage in demonstrations of the “flipped” classroom and develop strategies for introducing it into their own teaching. 

This session is intended for basic science and clinical faculty members of health sciences schools who engage in large group teaching and/or who are involved in course/curriculum planning. Faculty members who are developing active learning strategies for the first time, as well as those who have experience using these strategies but seek additional ideas for content and implementation are welcome. 

Basics of TBL in a Day

Presenters: Sandy Cook, Kevin Krane

TBL 101 - This is the single best introduction to TBL. It is conducted in a TBL format, participants must prepare ahead, take an IRAT, and engage actively with their assigned team members. The structure, process, and essential characteristics of an effective TBL module are emphasized. By the conclusion of this workshop, the participant will be able to:

1. Explain the key components of a successful TBL module.
2. Outline how they would construct a TBL module from a set of objectives.
3. Describe how they might convert a course/lecture they already teach into a TBL module.
4. Illustrate how to transform a small group into a productive learning-team.

The afternoon session will focus on writing an effective TBL Module
By the conclusion of the afternoon, the participant will be able to:

1. Describe how to construct a Group Application Exercise that promotes group cohesiveness.
2. Identify how to use the four S's in the design of GAE question.
3. Demonstrate at least two different formats for the display of team productivity.
4. Explain how the 'power of why' in question writing generates so much learner engagement.

Getting Started with Interprofessional Healthcare Education at Your School

Presenters: Richard Vari, Patty Vari

Curricular revisions to include Interprofessional Education (IPE) activities have recently intensified in health science schools spurred in part by accrediting bodies and the direction of national health agencies. In 2011, national objectives were defined in the US and several centers for IPE have now been created to assist faculty and practitioners in designing curricular programs and extending the outcomes into interprofessional practice. This workshop is for faculty and curriculum planners who are just beginning to consider designing and implementing IPE into their educational programs.

The morning session will provide an introduction into the rationale for IPE and an analysis of the major challenges that will be facing curricular revision. Examples of successful strategies to overcome these challenges will be presented. Individual workshop participant schools and programs will be discussed and analyzed in order to provide insight into strategies for planning and implementation.  An overview of the resources available to begin this type of curricular reform will be provided.

The afternoon session will allow participants to experience a “hands-on” mini-immersion into actual IPE content. The goal is for participants to become familiar with IPE objectives and content from an interprofessional student perspective.  The session is grounded in the IPEC Core Competencies and will include work in small teams.  Experiencing IPE rather than just hearing about the concepts will better equip the participants to more fully understand the importance of effective team building. Topics will include: individual personality profiles and how they can affect team function, establishing trust in a team, roles and scopes of practice of members of the healthcare team, and how to identify dysfunctional teams and offer corrections. Specific case scenarios will be explored by the teams to provide a practical application of these IPE concepts.

Role of Basic Science in Clinical Decision Making (Integration across all four years)

Presenters: Leslie Fall, Amy Wilson-Delfosse, Daniel Wolpaw, Shannon Grap

This interactive faculty development course will walk participants through a process of designing curricular elements to support the continuous integration of foundational sciences and clinical medicine across medical education programs. Specifically, this workshop will address:

1) the inclusion of clinical reasoning and skills into the more traditionally basic science portions of the curriculum;
2) meaningful assessments of basic sciences within a clinical context including the use of essay exams for a large class;
3) a return to basic sciences during clerkship training;
4) the development of conceptual frameworks to guide integrative curriculum design;
5) challenges, barriers, and necessary resources.

While examples will be provided from the Western Reserve2 Curriculum of Case Western Reserve University, a 4-year graduate entry medical education program in the United States, it is anticipated that this workshop will be relevant for all health professions educators, regardless of discipline or geographical location.

Aligning and Assessing Competencies, Milestones, and EPAs

Presenters: Tracy Fulton, Carla Lupi, Cheryl Valentine

Undergraduate medical educators are increasingly considering incorporation of Enstrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) into their curricula, to improve patient safety in residency training and to bridge the curricular divide between UME and GME. EPAs allow the operationalization of competency-based assessment in the workplace, focusing educators and learners on critical activities to be assessed. The AAMC has published a set of Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency, outlining 13 work activities that a day 1 intern should be able to perform with indirect supervision only. Several schools nationwide are participating in a program to further refine and pilot these EPAs in the UME setting. Other schools have developed their own EPAs. This workshop will provide a general introduction EPAs for the uninitiated, and will describe opportunities for medical science and other educators to approach EPAs from different curricular perspectives, including the program, competency, course and session levels. Participants will practice mapping their course or program objectives onto EPAs, and developing milestones that allow for early steps in assessment of EPAs.

At the close of this session, the participant will be able to:

1. Discuss the concept of entrustment, and the relationships between entrustable professional activities (EPAs), milestones and competencies

2. Describe the mapping of institutional educational program objectives to EPAs

3. Describe an initial approach to incorporating EPAs into a UME curriculum, using one of the 13 AAMC Core EPAs for Entering Residency as an example

4. Identify opportunities in individual courses and sessions to contribute to the learning and assessment of EPAs and milestones

Pedagogy and Skills for Just in Time Teaching Videos

Presenters: Jon Wisco, David Morton

In recent years, the Flipped Classroom (FC) and Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) pedagogies have emerged as an innovative approach for medical education. In FCs, content is delivered prior to classroom time, often using internet-based videos or readings, so that time in class can be dedicated to promoting higher-order thinking skills such as application, synthesis and evaluation. JiTT adds a component of providing formative assessments prior to class, so that the class time lesson can be tailored to meet the educational needs of the students. Based on principles of active learning the FC should lead to better retention, but results are mixed on the benefit of the FC compared to the traditional lecture.1,2,3 One reason for the mixed results could be the quality of the content (often in the form of video’s) provided to the students.

This workshop is for faculty who are just beginning to consider producing and/or implementing FC in their curriculum. This session will provide hands on instruction creating and producing video’s for the FC using the video camera on your personal digital assistant (PDA), laptop, PowerPoint/Keynote, tablet and other common digital equipment. Examples of successful strategies to overcome common challenges will be presented. Examples from Brigham Young University and University of Utah will be discussed to provide insight into these various strategies. 

Objectives: at the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the philosophy behind the flipped classroom and Just-in-Time Teaching

2. Describe a the most common strategies in creating and producing videos and materials for the flipped classroom

3. Learn how to produce at least one flipped classroom resource (participants need to bring a laptop and PDA)

4. Develop strategies to implement flipped classroom and Just-in-Time Teaching pedagogies in their own curriculum

For the full list and more details regarding the pre-conference workshops and faculty development courses, please click here.

Thank you,
Jon Wisco
2015 IAMSE Program Chair