Selecting & Developing Cases and Clinical Problems Janet M. Riddle, MD Director of Faculty Development Department of Medical Education jriddle@uic.edu DME Collaborative for Active Learning in Medicine

DME Collaborative for Active Learning in Medicine Today’s goals Select and develop cases and clinical problems that allow students to apply concepts and practice clinical problem solving Develop approaches for collaborating with clinical colleagues Explore strategies for using a “library” of cases across courses DME Collaborative for Active Learning in Medicine

DME Collaborative for Active Learning in Medicine A brief digression We all find ourselves in a stressful setting of trying to improve our teaching and make the educational experience better for our students. Assumptions that I’m making in how I’m teaching this session: You have a lot of experiencing teaching – and I want to build upon that experience in improving your teaching You have a lot to learn from each other. Together we are smarter than any of one of us. I “do” faculty development – stated simply, my job is to help improve the quality of teaching and learning in the COM. What I bring to today’s session is a set of concepts and tools related to instruction – that I hope will allow you to become a better teacher. We’ll accomplish that through discussion, a brief presentation, and an opportunity for you to practice developing an independent learning assignment. DME Collaborative for Active Learning in Medicine

What makes a “good” case? DME Collaborative for Active Learning in Medicine

Let’s review the key points from the last session DME Collaborative for Active Learning in Medicine

Cases and Clinical Problems: A Learner-Centered Perspective DME Collaborative for Active Learning in Medicine

What skills do your learners most need in order to master the content that you are teaching? Content has two purposes in a learner-centered environment: Establishes the foundation of knowledge on which subsequent learning occurs Means for acquiring learning skills and self-awareness of learning (meta-cognition) Weimer, 2002

Content allows the development of learning skills Process of making judgments Problem analysis Problem solving Critical appraisal Content functions to: Develop learning skills – Help learners understand the process of making judgments - e.g. problem analysis, problem solving, critical appraisal Rethink decisions whenever conditions change and new information comes to light Discuss how to make decisions when information is uncertain Explain reasoned judgment Encourage probabilistic statements Weimer, 2002

Content can promote the self-awareness of learning How learners learn Their strengths and weaknesses Meta-cognition Weimer, 2002

Content allows learners to experience the field first hand Allow students to do the authentic work of the discipline Weimer, 2002

To make instruction effective . . . Situate learning in real-life problems Build on previous experience Demonstrate what is to be learned Give learners the opportunity to practice problem-solving Reinforce learning through transfer of learning to new problems Merrill’s principles of instruction provide a set of tools to think about designing independent learning assignments Merrill, 2002

Situate learning in real-life problems What kinds of problems will allow your learners to develop the learning skills they need? What kinds of activities might you use? Let’s develop an example together – using Merrill’s principles of instruction Prioritize skills that learners most need to succeed with the content of the course DME Collaborative for Active Learning in Medicine

DME Collaborative for Active Learning in Medicine Time to work! DME Collaborative for Active Learning in Medicine

Identifying “good” cases and clinical problems A needs assessment problem Informal discussions with clinicians Direct observations of clinical rounds Journals, e.g. NEJM Expert recommendations, e.g. clerkship directors’ guides DME Collaborative for Active Learning in Medicine

What did you learn today that you plan to use in your teaching? DME Collaborative for Active Learning in Medicine

Three core learning principles Learning builds on prior knowledge Teachers must identify and work with pre-existing knowledge and understanding learners bring with them Bransford, 2000

Three core learning principles To develop competence, learners must Have a deep foundation of factual knowledge Understand facts & ideas in context of conceptual framework Organize knowledge to facilitate retrieval Teachers must teach some material in depth; provide conceptual frameworks Bransford, 2000

Three core learning principles Develop “metacognitive” approach in learners Metacognition – monitoring what you know & what you don’t know Teachers should help learners define learning goals & monitor progress in achieving them Bransford, 2000