Curriculum

A first-year certificate program that introduces participants to the art and science of teaching and to fundamentals of curriculum development with the goal of helping fellows become more intentional, effective, and informed educators and designers of learning experiences. The program is grounded in the firm belief that pedagogies and curricula that create caring, engaging, and informed learning spaces will ultimately translate into better health outcomes for patients.

Objectives:
Upon completion of MEF 1, participants will be able to

• exposed to several clinical teaching pedagogies for the purposes of intentional, effective, engagaing and reflective teaching
• able to apply all or some of these pedagogies in their own teaching practices
• introduced to fundamentals of curriculum design using a six step approach
• able to design an innovative curriculum with the intention of implementing it in a teaching context
• able to select, or design, appropriate instruments to assess and interpret learning outcomes
• able, if practically possible, to implement the innovation in their teaching contexts and assess the learning outcomes

Session topics include:

• Library Resources
• Curriculum Design
  • Problem Identification
  • Needs Assessment
  • Goals and Objectives
  • Educational Strategies
  • Implementation
  • Evaluation and Feedback
• Clinical Teaching
  • Learning Climate
  • Control of Session
  • Communication of Goals
  • Promotion of Understanding & Retention
  • Evaluation
  • Feedback
  • Promotion of Self-Directed Learning

Building on Fellows’ development in understanding pedagogy and curriculum development in medical education during MEF 1, MEF 2 is a secondary certificate program that introduces participants to the field of medical education research for the purpose of conducting research in medical education. Fellows are introduced to an array of social research methodologies including literature search strategies, research design, quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods, survey design, assessment of learning, program evaluation and other topics. 

During MEF 2, participants formulate a research question (of their choosing) to investigate in the broad area of medical education and construct a research design to answer the question. Fellows then implement their research design by collecting and analyzing data using a selection of appropriate research methods. They then begin to draft a research paper based on the results. The ultimate goal of MEF 2 is to enable fellows to create publication-ready scholarship in an area of interest—thereby preparing fellows to contribute to the scholarly literature in medical education research.

Objectives:
Upon completion of MEF 2, participants will:

• identify, comprehend and apply a variety of social scientific research methods to medical education research
• formulate a sound research question in an area of interest
• construct a research design to answer the question and implement it by collecting and analyzing data
• begin to draft a publishable article based on their research
• determine next steps for disseminating their research and search for funding sources to sustain and further their research

Session topics include:

• Library Resources
• Introduction to Research Design
• Research Methods
  • Quantitative 1 & 2
  • Qualitative 1 & 2
  • Mixed Methods
• Role of Conceptual Models in Medical Education Research / The Role of Theory in Research
• Introduction to Survey Design
• Methods of Data Analysis
• Assessment of Learning
• Program Evaluation