TEACHING AND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES
Originally prepared by Dr. Martin Schreiber; edited by S. Ginsburg

What academic opportunities exist for Teaching and Education
o Things to consider and lists of examples

What resources exist to support Teaching and Education
Academic Opportunities for Teaching
Consider:
 Level of education
 Type of teaching activity
 Number of learners in attendance
 Nature of commitment
Level of education
Undergraduate
 Preclerkship
o Lectures to whole class (250 students)
o Seminars (usually case-based) for 20 – 30 students
o PBL tutorials (6 – 8 students)
o ASCM (clinical skills, groups of 6 students)
o DOCH-2 research project supervision (1 on 1)
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Clerkship
o GIM ward attending
o Sub-specialty seminars
o Hospital-based bedside or other specialized teaching (e.g. ECG, CXR)
o Preceptor, oral exam / OSCE examiner, clinic supervisor (1 on 1)
o Electives supervision (generally 1 on 1)
Postgraduate (Core internal medicine and subspecialties)
o Consult and ward service attending (# learners varies according to team)
o Ambulatory clinic supervision (usually 1 on 1)
o Noon rounds (15 – 30 learners)
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o Morning report (15 – 30 learners)
o Subspecialty rotation teaching rounds (2 – 6 learners)
Continuing education
o Faculty Development
o Presentation at conferences, rounds, and other events
o Other creative opportunities
Teaching outside Faculty of Medicine
o Other faculties like Nursing, Dentistry, etc
Types of teaching activities summarized
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Lecture (to large group)
Discussion of case-based material in a seminar setting
Small group PBL
Bedside teaching
Ambulatory clinic supervision
In-hospital team supervision
Continuing education teaching
Nature of commitment
Consider: Contact time and preparation time

Contact time varies drastically
o Lecture – typically 1 hour
o ASCM tutor – up to 44 hours
o PBL tutor – 16 – 24 hours depending on the course

Preparation time
Varies drastically according to familiarity with topic
o A lot of our teaching involves teacher as non-expert (may require
considerable preparation as a result): e.g., PBL tutor, ASCM tutor
o May have opportunities to teach within specialty, e.g., clerkship seminars
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Have you done similar teaching exercise before?
o Once prepared, easy to update and do again each year or rotation
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Nature of exercise
o e.g. morning report – no special extra preparation is possible!
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Academic Opportunities for Education Leadership and
Administration
Consider:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Academic administration, including committees
Development of novel educational materials and strategies
Faculty development
Educational research and scholarship
1. Academic administration
Undergraduate
 Preclerkship
o Course director
o Subspecialty section head (e.g. section of Metabolism and Nutrition or of
Mechanisms, Manifestations and Management of Disease week)
o Hospital ASCM or DOCH coordinator
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Clerkship
o Clerkship site director
o Subspecialty coordinator for clerkship duties (preceptor, clinic, seminar
leader recruitment)
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Committees
o Admissions committee
o Examination and Student Assessment Committee (ESAC)
o PBL case development committee
o Electives committee
o Committees for course directors and hospital-based coordinators
Postgraduate
o
o
o
o
Hospital director for core internal medicine
Hospital subspecialty coordinator
Program director
Committees – hospital-based training committees
Continuing Education
o Subspecialty lead/coordinator for CE events
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2. Development of novel educational materials and strategies
Examples
 Electronic materials – e.g., CD-ROM and web-based instruction on ECG
interpretation
 Video on neurological examination techniques
 Teaching technical skills at skills lab / simulation centre
 OSCE station development
 Writing and using multiple-choice questions in pre- and post- rotation context
 Handouts
 Textbook chapters
 Teaching consult
3. Faculty development
a) Audience
 For colleagues
 For residents
b) Topics commonly addressed
 Effective teaching
 Lecturing
 Small group teaching
 Bedside teaching
 Giving feedback
 Effective assessment
 MCQ and OSCE station preparation
 Conflict resolution
4. Educational research
Consider: type of research, importance of collaboration
Types of research (see enclosed handouts)
a) Observational (quantitative, qualitative)
b) Interventional
c) “Action” (small scale, real-world)
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Resources which support Clinician-Teachers and Educators
Centre for Faculty Development at St. Michael’s Hospital www.cfd.med.utoronto.ca
 Excellent series of workshops for teaching and research in education
o Stepping Stones, CoFER, ESP, etc
 Monthly newsletter
 Excellent resources for learning about ethics in education research
Wilson Centre for Research in Education www.thewilsoncentre.ca
 To join as a member contact Mariana (info on website)
 Excellent monthly newsletter listing all FUNDING opportunities and
CONFERENCE deadlines, VISITING SPEAKERS, etc
 Research Rounds third Monday of each month at 1630
 Meeting: Annual research meeting for members each October
o Vaughan Estates, October 28th 2011
 Resource people galore
Key Journals
 Academic Medicine www.academicmedicine.org
 Medical Education www.mededuc.com
 Medical Teacher www.medicalteacher.org
 Advances in Health Sciences Education
http://www.springer.com/education+%26+language/journal/10459
 Teaching and Learning in Medicine http://www.siumed.edu/tlm/
 Journal of Graduate Medical Education www.jgme.org
 Canadian Medical Education Journal www.cmej.ca
 The Clinical Teacher www.theclinicalteacher.com
Books
 David Newble and Robert Cannon. A Handbook For Medical Teachers. Kluwer:
2001, Dordrecht.

Dent, J. and Harden, R. ed. A Practical Guide for Medical Teachers. 3rd ed.
Churchill Livingstone 2009: Edinburgh.

Neil Whitman and Thomas Schwenk. The Physician as Teacher. 1997: Whitman
Associates.
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Holmboe and Hawkins. Practical Guide to the Evaluation of Clinical Competence.
Mosby 2008
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BMJ series: ABC of Learning and Teaching in Medicine
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Kaufman, D. Applying educational theory in practice. BMJ 2003;326:213-6.
Prideaux, D. Curriculum design. BMJ 2003;326:268-70.
Wood D. Problem based learning. BMJ 2003;326:328-330.
Morrison, J. Evaluation. BMJ 2003;326:385-7.
Cantillon, P. Teaching large groups. BMJ 2003;326:437-40.
Jaques, D. Teaching small groups. BMJ 2003;326:492-4.
Spencer, J. Learning and teaching in the clinical environment. BMJ 2003;326:591-4.
Gordon, J. One-to-one teaching and feedback. BMJ 2003;326:543-5.
Lambert, W. et al. Written assessment. BMJ 2003;326:643-5.
Smee, S. Skills-based assessment. BMJ 2003;326:703-6.
Norcini J. Work based assessment. BMJ 2003;326:753-755.
Hutchinson, L. Educational environment. BMJ 2003;326:810-2.
McKimm, J. et al. Web-based learning. BMJ 2003;326:870-3.
Farrow, R. Creating teaching materials. BMJ 2003;326:921-3.
Websites (among many others)
 Best evidence medical education collaboration
http://www.beme.org/
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MedEd World – has lots of resources and a great series of webinars
www.mededworld.org
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MedEdPortal – tons of resources for teachers, all peer-reviewed
www.aamc.org/mededportal
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Medical Teacher – Twelve Tips series on Medical Education
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U of T Department of Medicine website on CanMEDS roles
http://www.deptmedicine.utoronto.ca/page753.aspx
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PBL tutoring website
http://meds.queensu.ca/medicine/pbl/pblhome.htm
Organizations and their meetings in 2010/2011
 Canadian Assocation for Medical Education and Canadian Conference on Med Ed
http://www.came-acem.ca/
Annual meeting April 14-18, 2012 in Banff
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Association of American Medical Colleges and Research in Medical Education
http://www.aamc.org/
Annual meeting November 4 - 9, 2011 in Denver
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Association for Medical Education in Europe
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http://www.amee.org/
Annual meeting August 27-31, 2011, in Vienna, Austria
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International Conference on Residency Education (sponsored by Royal College)
http://rcpsc.medical.org/meetings/index.php
September 23-25, 2011 in Quebec City

Ottawa International Conference on Assessment of Competence in Medicine
http://www.ozzawa13.com/
March 9 – 13, 2012 in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia
Resources on Research and Scholarship in Education
http://www.deptmedicine.utoronto.ca/eduscholar.htm
Definitions to illustrate types of teaching activity
Created by Drs. Ivan Silver and Karen Leslie
Small Group Teaching
Usually involves 4 to 10 participants, and a focus on active learning and communication
between members of the group. It can take the form of a seminar, tutorial or problem
based learning (PBL).
Problem-Based Learning (a form of small group teaching)
A student-centered learning method in which students collaboratively identify learning
objectives from a clinical case, research the objectives and then reflect on their learning
and apply it back to the case. The faculty member acts as a facilitator for the process.
Formal Teaching Rounds
Regularly scheduled sessions that take place at the bedside or in a classroom on the
ward and will usually involve one teacher/facilitator, trainees at various levels and other
faculty/teachers.
Informal Teaching Rounds
Spontaneous or unscheduled sessions that take place at the bedside or in a classroom
on the ward in a clinic or office and will usually involve one teacher/facilitator, +/- other
health professionals and a trainee or trainees.
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Individual Consultation
A 1:1 teaching method where the teacher reviews the assessment, diagnosis and
management of a patient with a trainee.
Workshop
An interactive teaching format comprising one or more facilitators and 10-40 learners.
It may incorporate small group discussion, case-based learning, role-playing and other
engaging and hands-on learning methods.
Peer Coaching
A learning method where participants (usually 2) provide mutual support and assistance
to each other in the achievement of learning goals or where one participant with more
expertise provides support to the other.
Inter-Professional Education
"Occasions when two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to
improve collaboration and the quality of care." (CAIPE)
Seminar
A seminar is a small group learning activity that usually involves the application of
knowledge that has been previously learned. For example, case based discussions on a
particular topic. These sessions are interactive, encouraging participants to draw from
their prior learning.
Lecture
A lecture is an example of a large group teaching activity that involves a teacher and 20
or more learners. The teaching format tends to be didactic, although there may be
active participation of the learners through the use of such methods as i-clickers and
question periods.
Lab
A lab is a type of small group teaching that involves ‘hands on’ practice of a skill such as
a clinical skill, technical, or research skill.
Examinations
An encounter with a learner where a faculty member has a role in the assessment of
learning (knowledge, skills and/or attitudes). Examples include being an examiner in an
OSCE (Observed Structured Clinical Encounter), STACER (Standardized Assessment of a
Clinical Encounter Report) or observed technical skills assessment.
Simulations
Simulation based learning is generally a small group teaching activity and for the teacher
may involve a briefing or orientation session with the learners, observation of the
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simulated learning experience (with or without feedback) and then a debriefing session
which involves guided reflection and feedback
Practicum
Longitudinal supervision of a learner's application of a previously learned set of theories
and/or skills. The amount of direct observation may vary, as will the extent of face to
face discussion about the achievement of learning during the practicum. It usually ends
with some type of formal evaluation of the learner by the teacher/faculty member.
Remediation
Remediation is a one-on-one teaching activity for a learner who has been identified as
performing significantly below expectations relating to their knowledge, skill or attitude.
The teacher works with the learner on a specified set of goals and is involved in
assessing the outcome of the process. The teacher and learner usually meet for a
number of sessions over a predetermined length of time.