Faculty Development Mini-Grant Project
The following virtual faculty development opportunities were offered in 2022-2023. Faculty and faculty developers benefitted from the expertise of speakers from six medical schools across the region, learning about their best practices and most effective strategies. This programming is funded by an Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Central Group on Educational Affairs (CGEA) mini-grant for faculty development. Session recordings are available now, and most sessions have summaries for your convenience.
SESSION RECORDINGS
JUNE
Change Management
Speaker J. M. Monica van de Ridder, Michigan State University and Heeyoung Han, PhD, Southern Illinois University
MAY
Faculty Career Success and Promotion
Speakers Judy S. Blebea, MD, Central Michigan University and Monica van de Ridder, PhD, Michigan State University
Key messages from the Speaker, by Dr. Blebea
Faculty promotion trends in the US indicate that there are racial and ethnic disparities and that women MDs are less likely than men to be promoted. There is still a leaky pipeline to academic success for women and those underrepresented in medicine.
Faculty are encouraged to have a promotion strategy which includes doing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, have organizational savvy and create a portfolio/dossier.
Kern’s 6 step approach to promotion includes 1) familiarity with promotion and tenure criteria; 2) targeted needs assessment; 3) set goals and objectives; 4) have a strategy; 5) implement and 6) evaluation and feedback.
Boyer’s model of scholarship includes discovery, teaching, integration of knowledge and the application through practice.
Meaningful work is the point at which a person’s passions, strengths and core values interact synergistically in their work.
A key to career success is to create an individual development plan that takes into consideration individual needs/desires, but also the organizational and societies needs and demands.
Adopting a growth mindset is important for career success.
An educator portfolio should be created early on in one’s career.
Bourdieu’s theory of practice evaluates the forms of capital from economic, cultural, symbolic and social that play a role in career advancement.
Faculty need to clarify and prioritize their values, define 1-, 3- and 5-year goals, identify needed knowledge and skills and create a development plan. Practical tips include teaming up with a colleague and creating folders that include evidence for promotion.
APRIL
The Low-Hanging Fruit in Educational Research
Speaker Mary Haas, MD, University of Michigan
MARCH
Mentoring/Coaching for Faculty
Speakers Judy S. Blebea, MD and John E. Lowry, PhD, Central Michigan University
Key Messages from the Speaker, by Dr. Suh
Coaching aims to improve performance and attain specific skill areas and achieve goals. A coach uses questioning skills and drives the relationship. Coaching is effective in developing leadership. (The goals are broad rather than being just relationship goals).
Mentoring provides advice, career guidance, and advancement support based on shared knowledge and experience. The mentee drives the relationship by setting goals. The mentor has the expertise and institutional knowledge. A few examples of mentoring include one-on-one-, group-, peer-, distance/E-, reverse-, speed-mentoring.
Theoretical frameworks such as the zone of proximal development, self-determination theory, positive psychology, and GROW/WOOP models support the coaching and mentoring practice.
The areas of coaching application in medical education include 1) competency-based education skills, 2) remediation, 3) skills for self-directed learning, 4) effective educators and researchers, 5) well-being, 6) imposter syndrome, 7) leadership, and 8) professional identity formation.
In a coaching process, the coach and coachee prepare goals and objectives, set meeting schedules and content, provide feedback, establish an action plan, and monitor progress.
The benefits of mentoring are numerous (e.g., career development/satisfaction/motivation, faculty retention/promotion, scholarly productivity, and burnout prevention).
Good mentors provide effective feedback, create a safe environment for discussion, and respect and acknowledge mentees’ contributions. In contrast, good mentees define career goals, understand values, norms, and expectations in career advancement, and identify roles and content areas for development.
Barriers such as the lack of mentor training/commitment, time, institutional support, personality, and poor communication hinder the mentoring process. However, supporting a culture of mentorship and developing effective program evaluation and outcome plans will promote successful mentoring within the institution.
FEBRUARY
Authentic Doctor-Patient Communication Skills
Speaker Heeyoung Han, PhD, Southern Illinois University
Key Messages from the Speaker, by Dr. Salentiny
The presenter covers authentic doctor-patient communication as studied in her research paper, "Analyzing Expert Criteria for Authentic Resident Communication Skills," by H. Han, S.T. Hingle, T. Koschmann, M. Reddy Papireddy, and J. Ferguson.
Many factors in doctor-patient communication include the side of the doctor (e.g., needs to gather info for diagnosis, take notes, clinic is busy and has limited time per patient, has guidelines to follow for patient communication, and may be evaluated (residents)); and the side of the patient (e.g., may have multiple issues and/or problems that have been missed, worried about payment, doesn't want to waste doctor's time, unsure what is important to mention).
Authentic communication needs to be co-constructed by combining doctor-centered and patient-centered - make it mutual. Linking thoroughness (questioning) and natural conversation (listening) achieves this. Seven strategies for authentic communication were discussed during the session; these included questioning, listening, empathy, context, and more.
JANUARY
Increase Student Success with Active Learning Strategies
Speaker Adrienne Salentiny, PhD, University of North Dakota
Key Messages from the Speaker, by Dr. Suh
Active learning (AL) is “a broad range of teaching strategies which engage students as active participants in their learning during class time with their instructor. Typically, these strategies involve some amount of students working.”
The literature supports that AL enhances student exam performance, persistence, concept inventories, and knowledge application.
AL is effective because it promotes gaining and retaining student attention.
AL 10-2 Strategy (10-minute lecture followed by a 2-minute pause) works! For example, lecture for 42 minutes and take four breaks in an hour to maximize class time learning and minimize brain fog.
Using the 10-2 strategy, create a culture of inquiry. For example, have Q&A sessions, reward learners for asking questions, use technology (poll & survey), and allow 30 seconds for students to think and answer the question.
Rethinking how you teach materials can help students immerse in learning. Consider using flipped classrooms, case-based projects, and group work.
There is help available for you to learn more about active learning. Reach out to the teaching center, faculty development office, instructional designer, or educational specialist.
Whatever you do, tell students why. Students are more successful when they know why you’ve chosen an AL strategy and tool.
DECEMBER
Program Development and Evaluation: a Practical Guide
Speakers Boyung Suh PhD, Southern Illinois University and Adrienne Salentiny, PhD, University of North Dakota
Key Messages from the Speaker, by Dr. Van de Ridder
Dr. Boyung Suh and Dr. Adrienne Salentiny offered a webinar on Faculty Development Program Development and Evaluation: A Practical Guide. In this session, they covered the steps they took to develop our Multi-Institutional Online Collaborative Faculty Development Program that was sponsored through the Central Group on Education Affairs (CGEA) Mini-Grant. Three takeaways:
The presenters introduced Caffarella and Daffron’s (2013) Interactive Model of Program Planning in the context of faculty development. The model consists of eleven program planning components based on the five foundational knowledge domains, which include (a) adult learning, (b) cultural differences, (c) Relationship building, (d) power and interest, and (e) technology.
Suh and Salentiny stressed the importance of teamwork in the context of multi-institutional faculty development. It is so essential to build a base of support. When they were mentioning this out loud, I realized it. Our grant project group has a lot of responsibility and gives each other the opportunity to use their strengths so others can benefit from it.
The slide about the evaluation had eleven questions we need to answer when we evaluate projects, and this resonated with me. To me, this slide showed so clearly that evaluation is at the heart of our projects (when you would like to improve). It also shows the complexity of program evaluation and the different angles an evaluation requires. When I provide faculty development myself, I realize that I often only think about developing good questions and making sure we present them to the audience at the right moment, so that they will be filled out. But questions such as “How and when will analysis of data take place?" “What are the resources needed to conduct the evaluation,” and “What will be done with the evaluation when it is completed?” It is good to ask these questions again!
NOVEMBER
Feedback Fundamentals: Observing, Providing Feedback, and Being Unbiased
Speaker J. M. Monica van de Ridder, PhD, Michigan State University
Recorded Session
OCTOBER
Evidence-based Clinical Teaching Techniques to Use when Time is Limited
Speakers John E. Lowry, PhD, Central Michigan University and Mohammed Najjar, MD, MHPE, The Ohio State University
Key Messages from the Speaker, by Dr. Lowry
Clinical teaching is most effective and efficient when preceptors can identify the needs of the learner, teach according to the needs, and provide feedback. One way to identify the learners’ needs is using the RIME framework to identify their level of progression. There are several evidence-based strategies to be effective as a preceptor that do not require an extensive amount of time.
The One Minute Preceptor technique guides a focused discussion with a medical student, and has been shown to be effective and improve student performance.
The SNAPPS technique helps learners develop more differential diagnoses and identify gaps in their diagnostic reasoning.
Other methods include briefing, intraoperative teaching, and debriefing (BID) model, chalk talks, and teaching scripts.
Some of these techniques work best for medical students, and others are better suited for working with residents. Many evidence-based techniques stimulate critical thinking and self-reflection while providing ample constructive feedback to the learners. When giving feedback to learners, it is important both to identify areas where improvement is needed as well as showing them how they can make the necessary improvements. Clinical teachers are encouraged to practice the techniques that are appropriate for their clinical department and level of learners. Clinical teachers should also seek feedback on their teaching performance from learners and colleagues as part of their professional development.
THE RESEARCH TEAM
Adrienne Salentiny, PhD, University of North Dakota
Boyung Suh, PhD, Southern Illinois University
Judy Blebea, MD, Central Michigan University
Mary Haas, MD, University of Michigan
Heeyoung Han, PhD Southern Illinois University
John E. Lowry, PhD, Central Michigan University
Mohammed Najjar, MD, The Ohio State University
J. M. Monica van de Ridder, PhD, Michigan State University
Direct questions and comments about this project to the Co-PIs: Adrienne Salentiny (adrienne.salentiny@und.edu) and Boyung Suh (bsuh46@siumed.edu)
THE RESEARCH
Data analysis is ongoing in 2023-24.
Preliminary takeaways for faculty development session design include:
Participants love interaction (polls, large group discussions), but small-group discussion (such as breakout rooms) tended to fall flat.
Speakers should connect theory to practice through examples, scenarios, and shared experiences.
The perspectives of clinician speakers (e.g., MD) and non-clinicians (e.g., PhD) differ and engage different audiences; sessions co-presented by one of each were praised.
Many participants attend as a ”self-check” to confirm the relevance and effectiveness of teaching and clinical techniques they already use.
Free sessions can (and will) be attended by anyone who sees the marketing; not only participants from the host school(s).
Providing slides and a short session recap engages people who aren’t able to make the live event(s).
Preliminary takeaways for multi-institutional faculty development team dynamics include:
A group leader is needed; especially when FD is among many priorities for team members.
Shared organization and communication among team members is key. All have assigned jobs or responsibilities for each session. (For example: chat monitor; recorder, summarizer...)
Needs assessment helps determine match topics to school needs and knowledgeable speakers. (Example: School A needs FD on precepting; a School B expert can present on this topic.)
Virtual format: less resource use (travel, space, etc.) and more availability of speakers; more accessibility for attendees. (Note: resources do need to be identified for recordings, closed-captioning, web, etc.)
Make time for logistics. Web work, marketing and social media, event planning, team meeting scheduling, etc. require more time than expected.
Use action research principles to create a culture of continuous improvement: team debriefs after each session and meets in between to plan improved future events.
We will update this space with official findings in the future.