Academic and Student Services

Learning Community: a group of people who share similar academic goals and meet on a regular basis to learn with and from one another. Learning communities support the alignment of organizational, program, team, and individual goals. Members of a learning community are accountable to one another to achieve shared goals. 

Assessment: collection of data as evidence of a learner’s progress and achievement. Assessment measures the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and/or beliefs of a learner in order to identify their level of performance and provide feedback on that performance and areas for improvement. It is diagnostic and formative in nature. Examples include using a question bank or taking an in-training examination to get feedback on one’s knowledge base to guide study efforts. 

Evaluation: collection, analysis, and interpretation of data on the performance of a learner to determine the degree to which they have attained learning goals. Evaluation assigns value to data in order to make a judgement based on established criteria. It is judgmental and summative in nature. Examples include taking an NBME examination for a course grade or taking a USMLE examination for licensure. 

Learning objectives are measurable statements that demonstrate the goals for a curriculum. Objectives work to provide a map for when and where knowledge, skills, and attitudes are taught. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education, or LCME, provides the following definitions. 

Learning objectives
A statement of the specific, observable, and measurable expected outcomes (i.e., what the medical students will be able to do) of each specific component (e.g., course, module, clinical clerkship, rotation) of a medical education program that defines the content of the component and the assessment methodology and that is linked back to one or more of the medical education program objectives. (Elements 6.1, 8.2, 8.3, and 9.1). MCW refers to these objectives as course or event objectives. 

Medical education program objectives
Broad statements, in measurable terms, of the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes (typically linked to a statement of expected competencies) that a medical student is expected to exhibit as evidence of his or her achievement of all programmatic requirements by the time of medical education program completion. (Standards 6 and 11; Elements 6.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.7, and 9.4). MCW refers to these objectives as Global Competencies. 

Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain is a hierarchical ordering of intellectual skills used by educators and learners to organize educational experiences. Created by Benjamin Bloom in 1956, and revised by Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl in 2001, the taxonomy is often used to classify learning outcomes and objectives. 

The Six Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

• Remember: memorizing information
• Understand: organizing and summarizing information
• Apply: using information to solve problems
• Analyze: using information to explain a problem
• Evaluate: using information to make a judgement
• Create: using information to design a new solution to a problem

An educator portfolio is a collection of documentation that provides evidence of your effectiveness as an educator. Used as part of the promotion process at MCW, a faculty member’s portfolio contains data and narratives that provide context for that data.

General Guidelines for Creating Your Portfolio

• Keep your portfolio simple, succinct, and focused on examples that demonstrate your effectiveness as an educator.
• Don’t use the portfolio to repeat information already available in your Curriculum Vitae (CV).
• Use bullet points and graphics when possible; avoid long narratives that do not draw attention to your successes. 

Master Adaptive Learner, or MAL, is a conceptual framework developed by Dr. William Cutrer and colleagues to guide medical educators in developing medical students’ skills in adaptive expertise, or their ability to learn and innovate to meet the challenges of modern clinical practice. MALs go through four general phases when learning in practice: Planning, Learning, Assessing, and Adjusting. This is an iterative process, one in which the learner moves amongst the phases as some questions are resolved and other questions arise. 

The Four Phases

• Planning includes identifying a knowledge gap, selecting an opportunity for learning, and searching for resources to address the knowledge gap.
• Learning involves intense focus in which the learner internalizes new understandings and works to find the most effective way to resolve the cognitive dissonance that initiated the learning process.
• Assessing occurs when the learner tests out what they have learned and forms an opinion as to its effectiveness.
• Adjusting is the phase in which the learner takes their new knowledge, skill, and/or attitude and incorporates it into their routine practice.

Cutrer, W.B., Miller, B., Pusic, M.V., Mejicano, G., Mangrulkar, R.S., Gruppen, L.D., Moore, D. E. (2017). Fostering the Development of Master Adaptive Learners: A conceptual model to guide skill acquisition in medical education. Academic Medicine, 92(1), 70-75.

The term andragogy is specific to the needs and motivations of adult learners. Popularized by educator Malcolm Knowles in the 1970s, the theory of andragogy is based on six assumptions about the adult learner. 

• Adults are more self-directed as opposed to dependent on others to learn.
• Adults’ experiences provide a rich resource for learning new information.
• Adults are more ready to learn if the topic is related to their social or professional role (immediate relevancy).
• Adults are more problem than subject centered, preferring to learn information that is readily applicable to their lives.
• Adults are internally motivated.
• Adults need to know why they need to learn something (related to relevancy of information).

A “learning management system” is software that allows educators to organize and manage educational courses or training programs. Managing courses in a learning management system, or LMS, involves creating, changing, assigning, grading, and other administrative activities.

MCW currently has three learning management systems in place. Desire2Learn, or D2L, houses non-degree granting programs, such as graduate medical education and advanced practice provider programs. Brightspace, the updated interface for Desire2Learn, is used for degree granting programs, such as courses in the medical and pharmacy schools. PeopleFluent is used by Human Resources to manage personnel training and tracking.

A “flipped classroom” is one in which traditional lecture materials and content have been shifted outside of the classroom to reserve in-class time for content application activities (Australian Council for Private Education and Training, 2016).

In flipped classroom design, students complete pre-work (e.g., reading book chapters or articles, watching videos, listening to podcasts) and report to class prepared to discuss and work with the content. Application activities often involve small group work, in which students interact with one another and the material to foster deeper learning.

Active learning refers to a broad range of educational approaches that seek to engage the learners in the educational process rather than have them serve in a passive role. In other words, active learning requires learners to interact with the material in meaningful ways. Such approaches often include students working together during class time but may also include activities such as individual work or personal reflection.

Unlike in a “traditional” setting, active learning requires students to do more than take notes and ask or respond to facilitator questions. However, incorporating active learning does not require the facilitator to abandon a lecture format completely. In fact, mixing in short active learning activities within a lecture can make that format more effective overall, allowing students the opportunity to check their understanding of a concept and seek clarification during the learning session.

A Standardized Patient (SP) is a person trained to portray a patient in realistic and repeatable ways to simulate a specific medical condition or disease.

• SPs provide feedback on a learner’s performance from the perspective of the person they portray, related to interviewing skills and physical examinations. Learners also receive feedback on their ability to communicate empathically with patients.
• SPs allow a learner to practice taking a complete and focused history of a patient, as well as practice physical exam techniques.
• SPs continue to be a resource for practicing ultrasounds.
• SPs not only assist with teaching, they also provide opportunities for assessing a learner’s performance.

Simulation-based medical education (SBME) bridges classroom learning and real-life clinical experiences.

SBME is a powerful standardized, objective and measurable teaching method used to instruct and test all levels of learners from any healthcare discipline to increase their competency as healthcare providers.

Different modalities of simulation are used, depending on the learning objective:

• Standardized Patients (SP) – Primarily used to train/test patient-provider communication skills. “SP’s” are also used to practice physical assessment, and as models for procedures such as ultrasound.
• Procedural Task Trainers – Allow trainees hands-on practice. An extensive range of skills, from simple IV placement to central line placement and intubation, are taught with trainers.
• Hi-Fidelity Simulators - Full-body manikins that mimic, at a very high level, human body functions. Used for immersive simulation experiences that provide a high level of interactivity and realism for the learner.
• Hybrid Simulation – Combining two or more simulation modalities to maximize effectiveness of a training session. (e.g. displaying simulated “sick” patient vital signs for otherwise healthy SPs patients to heighten realism).

Customized learning experience - SBME accommodates a wide range of learners from novices to experts, and an array of skills including knowledge-in-action, procedures, decision-making, and effective communication.

Patient and student safety - The simulated environment allows learners freedom to make mistakes without patient harm. By seeing the outcome of their mistakes and then debriefing, learners gain powerful insight and the opportunity to practice to “get it right”.

The STAR Center’s Simulation Professionals and State-of the-art Simulation Lab - STAR Center staff put their years of experience to work helping faculty develop SBME solutions to meet the educational objectives for their learners. Whether that solution means a fully-immersive Hi-Fidelity scenario in our Simulation lab or a simple learning activity that utilizes simulation, the STAR Center and staff are here to help you.

Self-directed learning, or SDL, is defined by the following components (LCME Standard 6.3):

• Self-assess own learning needs
• Identify, analyze, and synthesize relevant information independently
• Appraise credibility of information
• Share information with peers and supervisors
• Receive feedback on their information-seeking skills

Interprofessional Education (IPE) prepares MCW students to function professionally in the team environment, with emphasis on the following competencies: 

Communication 
Values and Ethics
Teams and Teamwork
Roles and Responsibilities 

The goal of interprofessional programming is to foster a respect and appreciation for all future members of the healthcare team. IPE is founded on the principle that learning about, from, and with other professionals throughout one’s education contributes to an ability to operate more sufficiently on a healthcare team.

If you are interested in Interprofessional Education, OEI has an Interprofessional Education Coordinator to help! The IPE Coordinator collaborates with faculty to design and implement programming aligned with the goals of IPE. The coordinator will provide support through all stages of program development, including recruitment and communication with partner programs and students, and is an excellent resource to ensure that integrating IPE into your courses does not become overwhelming.

Instructional design is the strategic process of creating and improving instructional experiences. Using learning theory and educational research, instructional designers try to analyze learning needs within all MCW schools and set out to ensure that the needs can be both met and assessed. We are goal-driven and care about the responsibilities of the faculty and needs of all learners here.

Instructional design services can often be the conduit or bridge between faculty ideas and implementation. If an educator has an idea, whether it’s abstract, or a slight improvement, or maybe just the start of a concept, we pride ourselves on being able to hear them out and help them establish definable outcomes. We work closely with teams like educational technology, the library, faculty development, and the exam team to ensure that we’re aware of all possibilities that may be useful for the educational mission at MCW. While we’re often behind the scenes, we will meet with educators and students anywhere to ensure that projects meet deadlines and have an extra layer of quality assurance.

• 5 Ideas for Promoting Student Engagement (PDF)
• Clinical Feedback (PDF)
• Feedback vs Evaluation (PDF)
• Flipped Classroom (PDF)
• Self-Care Strategies for Faculty (PDF)

• Faculty Development Series - Student Engagement (PDF)
• Interprofessional Education (IPE) (PDF)
• Flipping the Classroom (PDF)
• Active Learning MCW (PDF)
• Clinical Feedback (PDF)
• Clinical Feedback Models (PDF)
• Planning Online Discussions (PDF)
• Step 1 Exam Overview for Faculty (PDF)

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