Graduate Courses on Teaching Skills

Providing the next generation of medical educators with the knowledge, skills and attitudes that characterize successful medical educators requires a purposeful, systematic approach. This webinar will compare two such programs organized as graduate courses. Microbiology 805 at the University of Kansas Medical Center was developed by Michael Parmely in response to requests from graduate students in the PhD program. The course is organized around the principles of student-centered learning and each of the 15 sessions illustrates the prevailing theories and good teaching practices with students doing and reflecting on what they have done. In contrast, the American Physiological Society has developed a course “Becoming and Effective Teacher” as part of its Professional Skills Training program. This course blends an on-line component with a 5 day residential experience that allows the participants to develop skills as and modeling being an effective teacher. This blended approach allows a critical mass of interested students to develop a supportive peer group of committed educators. Incorporating formal educational training into Doctoral graduate programs enhances the skills of our graduates, and increases their competitiveness in the job market.