Jayne Reuben, PhD, FAPE
Director, Instructional Effectiveness, Academic Affairs, Instructional Associate Professor
Texas A&M University, College of Dentistry
Our association is a robust and diverse set of educators, students, researchers, medical professionals, volunteers and academics that come from all walks of life and from around the globe. Each month we choose a member to highlight their academic and professional career and see how they are making the best of their membership in IAMSE. This month’s Featured Member is Jayne Reuben.
How long have you been a member of IAMSE?
I have been a member of IAMSE for 6 years and I am extremely honored to be this month’s featured member.
Looking at your time with the Association, what have you most enjoyed doing? What are you looking forward to?
I have learned so much coming to the IAMSE conferences and have met so many faculty who inspire me. One example of the amazing quality of speakers that come to the IAMSE annual meeting is Dr. Nicole Woods whom I met at my first conference. I remember that when she walked into the room, the energy shifted and people were so excited! A few years later, I hosted her here at Texas A&M College of Dentistry where she was also extremely well received.
Second, I always enjoy IAMSE conferences because the workshops are informative and inspiring. They showcase progressive ideas so attendees can see what exciting innovations are occurring at other schools. Third, if you have met me, you will know that I am an extrovert, so I especially enjoy the opportunities to network with potential collaborators as well as socialize with friends and former colleagues. I have connected with several individuals during the IAMSE Cafe discussions which are so relevant to our institutional needs that I have convinced a few faculty and staff to join.
I have recently become active on two IAMSE committees. I love being a part of the Onboarding Committee because we have such lively planning sessions. I am excited to participate in the new member’s luncheon as that was one of the activities that really impressed me about IAMSE. I was made to feel like my membership really mattered so I want to make sure that all of our newer members feel the same way. I am also happy to play a small part in the race equity committee’s exciting session on mitigating bias in the medical curriculum at this year’s meeting.
Why should people be excited to join your virtual pre-conference workshop “Facilitating Powerful Learning by Developing Learner Creativity and Design Skills”? How will this session translate well to the virtual format?
The design and creativity in learning workshops transformed the way I think about teaching and learning in my courses. Patient care extends well beyond what happens in the doctor’s office or the dental clinic. The involvement of multiple social service agencies and other community partners are frequently necessary to address the complex social determinants of health that can significantly affect patient outcomes. Therefore, it is crucial for people in professional and academic environments to be innovative and to have the ability to develop solutions for these complex problems and we cannot leave it to chance that our students will be prepared to meet the changing needs of health care.
This workshop will enable participants to use simple but powerful approaches to help learners develop skills in creativity and design while simultaneously improving their depth and quality of learning. In addition, Dr. Jonan Donaldson’s experience developing and facilitating virtual workshops through the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) at Texas A&M University has helped us develop expertise in optimizing interactivity and engagement in virtual formats.
What workshop, session or event are you most looking forward to in Denver?
I am most excited about the focus sessions, “Beyond Equity and Inclusion, Integrating JEDI into the Medical Curriculum”, and “Examination Standard Setting: Not for the Faint of Heart.” I am also excited about “Creating Social Capital: Historically Black Colleges and Universities…” but because it is scheduled at the same time as one of my sessions, I will not be able to attend.
What interesting things are you working on outside the Association right now?
On an institutional level, I am primarily focused on helping our students prepare for the new Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE). This is the first year that this previously two-part exam is required for all dental students and I am very curious to see how the changes that we made in our curriculum impact student performance on this exam.
I am most excited about the work that I have done over the past two years as a member of the Meharry National Center for Medical Education Development and Research Community of Practice. As part of this amazing group of health professionals and researchers, we have developed ten curriculum modules designed to target important topics such as adverse childhood experiences, interpersonal violence, immunization disparities and mental health in three specific vulnerable patient populations-migrant workers, people who are LGBTQ+ and persons experiencing homelessness. Under the leadership of Dr. Patricia Matthews-Juarez, these ten modules will be published later this year for anyone to use.
I am also working with Dr. Donaldson who conducts numerous research projects to investigate optimal designs for learning which leverage and develop learner creativity and problem-solving skills. We are using complex systems theory to investigate the relationships between conceptualizations of learning and practices in teaching and learning which he presented in a TEDx talk on March 6th, 2022.
Anything else that you would like to add?
I am so proud of IAMSE for recognizing that we need to advocate and teach our students to advocate for the underserved, marginalized and most vulnerable members of our communities. This aspect of IAMSE’s agenda has the potential to help students develop into professionals who make such a positive impact on their future communities. I hope that this will always be a primary part of the IAMSE mission.
For more information on sessions, presentations and to register for #IAMSE22 visit www.IAMSEconference.org.