MEL 8954: Teaching the Sciences Basic to Medical Practice

Drs. Frazier Stevenson and Danielle Gulick 

Please submit a brief email to Dr. Stevenson prior to signing up for this elective indicating which months you are available and why you are interested in the elective. Indicate any specific organ system blocks you would like to work in and why. Requests to add the course must be received at least 2 months prior to the start date. Education Scholarly Ccn students need to complete a total of 4 weeks to meet the concentration requirements. 

This elective is designed to introduce senior medical students to the role of clinicians in teaching the “basic sciences”. Students will work with Year 1-2 faculty to design active learning and case study materials, teach in interdisciplinary labs, active learning sessions, and case discussions, and review the content taught the students from the perspective of a generalist third or fourth year student. Students will receive seminar instruction on effective lecture and active learning teaching techniques, and will research and prepare two short lectures for a mixed faculty/student audience on basic science topics of their choice, with improvement demonstrated on the second lecture after feedback is received on the first.

Objectives

1. Understand the teaching role of an academic physician in the pre-clerkship curriculum.
2. Become aware of effective teaching methods/strategies, feedback/evaluation strategies, and approaches to dealing with difficult learners
3. Collaborate with pre-clerkship faculty to teach MS1 and MS2 students effectively in lab, small group, and/or large group active learning settings. 
4. Assume teaching responsibilities and acquire the knowledge to improve their current teaching skills
5. Demonstrate the ability to deliver an effective basic science lecture, integrating active learning principles into the sessions

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this elective, the student should better understand basic principles of good basic science teaching and be able to demonstrate effective teaching techniques.

Evaluation

• Active participation in teaching seminars
• Active collaboration with pre-clerkship instructors to develop teaching materials.
• Delivery of a well-researched lecture, with improvement on a second presentation after feedback is received. 

Requires permission of the course director.