How to document your role in education: the teaching dossier

Anita Rachlis MD

Objectives

To understand the scholarship of teaching To review the Teaching Dossier

purpose component parts teaching activities to include evaluation of teaching

To provide helpful hints

The scholarship of teaching

“A scholarship of teaching is not synonymous with excellent teaching”

“All faculty have an obligation to teach well, to engage students, and to foster important forms of student learning…such teaching is a good fully sufficient unto itself.

The scholarship of teaching

When it entails, as well, certain practices of classroom assessment and evidence gathering, when it is fully informed not only by the latest ideas in the field but by current ideas about teaching in the field, when it invites peer collaboration and review, then teaching might be called scholarly, or reflective or informed.

The scholarship of teaching

But in addition to all of this, yet another good is needed, one called the scholarship of teaching, which we describe as having three central features of being public, open to critique and evaluation, and in a form that others can build on. A fourth attribute…is that it involves question-asking, inquiry and investigation, particularly around issues of student learning.”

Hutchings, P and Shulman, L. Teaching among the Scholarships, Change, Sept 1999

Purpose of the Teaching Dossier

the purpose is to make significant chunks of what educator’s do available for peer review. Only when we have something to value, will we have something to evaluate…and we can not value something that we can not share, exchange, and examine

Lee Shuman “The educator’s portfolio” 1990

Why do you need a Teaching Dossier?

Documentation of what educational activities you engage in as a: clinician-scientist/investigator clinician-educator clinician-teacher

Annual activity review Three year review Promotion MainCert validation

Teaching Dossier

http://www.deptmedicine.utoronto.ca

Faculty

Career advancement

Academic dossiers

Teaching dossiers

The Teaching Dossier includes…

all teaching and student assessment activities administrative, organizational, and developmental

aspects of education educational research activities related to medical

education research and development national and international organizations whose

activities relate to medical education research and development

The Teaching Dossier includes…

national and international conferences and workshops relating to medical education research and development

external consultancies relating to medical education research and development

education-related honours and awards

Begin with

Introductory statement provides the reviewer with a clear and

accurate picture of your perspective on your educational contributions and their impact

“executive summary of the dossier” don’t assume that it will be obvious from the

dossier

Reflective statement your philosophy of education

Philosophy of Education

the goal of any educator is to change learner’s knowledge, attitudes and/or behaviors in a predetermined direction

Bland CJ et al. Successful faculty in academic medicine: essential skills and how to acquire them. Springer 1990

instruction, in turn, is influenced by the values, beliefs, prior experiences, and knowledge of the individual faculty member

each faulty member must be able to articulate her/his philosophy of education

Identify your personal philosophy of education

Philosophy of adult education inventory – Lorraine Zinn PhD

liberal adult education (expert) behaviorist adult education (manager) progressive adult education (organizer) humanistic adult education (facilitator) radical adult education (coordinator)

Educational activities summary

Organize each academic year under the following categories

undergraduate education postgraduate education graduate education continuing education related academic activities

Educational activities summary (example)Undergraduate education2005-6

Year 1 Metabolism and nutrition lectures 2 x 1 hr PBL 8 x 2 hrASCM clinics 6 x 3 hr

20 hrs

18 hrs

Year 2 Foundations of Medical PracticeLectures 4 x 1 hrPBL tutorials 12 x 2 hr

28 hrs

Year 3 Medicine ClerkshipSeminar Program 3 x 1 hrExaminations

6 hrs

Year 4 Medicine ClerkshipSeminar Program 4 x 1 hrObserved Clinical Skills

12 hrs

Educational activities summary (example)Undergraduate education2005-6

Administrative, Organization, Development Member, undergraduate curriculum faculty

development committee Member, Metabolism and Nutrition course

committee

Awards Academy teaching award Aikins Award nomination

Educational activities summary (example)Graduate education2005-6

Graduate students supervised (list names, dates, level – M.Sc. or Ph.D.

Level of supervisory responsibility (principal supervisor or member of committee)

Graduate courses taught, dates (courses in School of Graduate studies)

Administrative, Organization, Development Graduate student coordinator, Institute of

Medical ScienceAwards Nominated for Silverman award

Educational activities summary (example)Postgraduate education2005-6

Hematology ward rounds, 4 hours per week 96 hrs Hematology seminars, 3 sessions x 1 hour x 6 18 hrs MKSAP review with residents, date 3 hrs Examinations, interns/residents 3 hrs

Administrative, Organization, Development Member, Internal Medicine PGY1 interviewing team, UT Member, Postgraduate Education Committee, SWCHSC

Awards Inpatient teaching award, Dept of Medicine, SWCHSC

Educational activities summary (example)Continuing education2005-6

Certification and chemotherapy seminars for nurses Date 2 hrs Date 1 hr

Hematology Update, Saturday at the University Date 2 hrs

Transfusion Medicine, Family Medicine Clinic Day, William Osler Health Centre Date 1 hr

Administrative, Organization, Development member of course planning committee, Saturday

at the UniversityAwards

Nominated for a Woolf award: individual teaching

Educational activities summary (example)Academic Activities Related to Education2005-6

_________ Research approaches in health manpower development: some alternatives. Education and the Health Professions 2004;12:31-5

Member of Program committee Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Annual Meeting 2004

Consultant – The Medical Council of Canada

Educational activities summary (example)Supporting documentation

copies of teacher/course evaluations, and/or summaries of the results .......

unsolicited letters acknowledging outstanding educational contributions

sections of reports of reviews that include citations relating to outstanding educational contributions

course outlines, course materials, publications, etc

Helpful tips

keep every piece of documentation don’t assume that someone, somewhere will have

a copy for you

Helpful tips

seek to participate in courses that have formal systematic evaluations of teaching as part of your teaching responsibility

for teaching activities that are not yet formally evaluated, seek your own input from learners about your teaching

don’t assume that everything will be evaluated encourage your learners to complete their

evaluations of your teaching

Evaluation of your teaching

“if it’s worth doing, it’s worth getting feedback”

peer evaluation presentations course/lecture content publications

student evaluation

A simple evaluation form

What were the (1,2,3…) things you liked best about this session?

What were the(1,2,3…) things you think could be improved or changed?

What were the (1,2,3…) most important things you learned in the session?

Helpful tips

actively seek documentation if it has not been provided to you evaluations from CE events letters of acknowledgement of significant

education administrative activities department/division reviews

maintain list of learners taught by year and by course (some of them will be your references for

promotion) don’t forget your role in formal mentoring

relationships

Awards

find out what awards you may be eligible for hospital department/division university division faculty: undergraduate, postgraduate, continuing

education academy

find colleagues to support your application and nomination for these awards

if you are not successful, get feedback try again!

Helpful tips

seek assistance, on an ongoing basis, with your hospital’s Teaching Effectiveness Committee representative(s)

Teaching Effectiveness Committee

Chair: Anita Rachlis

Mount Sinai Hospital: Hillar Vellend UHN: Robert Richardson

Danny Panisko Toronto Rehab: Barry Goldlist St. Michael’s Hospital: Robert Hyland

Jeffery Zaltzman Martin Schreiber

WCH: Gary Sibbald Anna Day

SBHSC: Mary Bell Steve Shumak Peeter Poldre

In summary…..

enhance your teaching skills

professional development self-reflection improve skills offers interaction with colleagues with

similar interests

Opportunities for professional development

Texts and journals Newble and Cannon, A handbook for medical teachers,

Kluwer Academic Publishers, Fourth edition 2001 Alguire et al., Teaching in your office, American College of

Physicians, American Society of Internal Medicine, 2001 ABC of learning and teaching in medicine, BMJ 2003

Educational meetings CAME AAMC Ottawa conference

Workshops Stepping stones teacher training program/workshops

www.cfd.med.utoronto.ca