Students as Teachers

Becoming a Medical Teacher
Fourth Year Medical Student Elective

Course Directors
Rainier Soriano, M.D. and Lisa Coplit M.D.

Faculty
Blair Hammond M.D.
Stephen Berns M.D.

Elective Credit
2 weeks, optional extra 1 week of credit for teaching in Intersession, optional credit for teaching in ASM II

Description
An innovative 7-session course on the "nuts and bolts" of learning principles and practical clinical and classroom teaching techniques. Fourth year students are expected to transition naturally to the role of teacher once they enter internship. However, teaching is a skill rather than a gift and this course will provide students with formal training to help them excel as effective clinical teachers. Students will participate in 7 small group workshops about learning theories and effective teaching techniques with medical education faculty. Students will also learn by practicing teaching in simulated and real life teaching sessions. They will be videotaped and receive feedback on their videotaped and observed teaching sessions (optional). Students may also serve as co-facilitators in the third year medical student Intersession course where they can put their newly learned skills into practice. We will modify the exact timing of this course each year based upon the number of students enrolled. We are flexible so that the workshop sessions are done in small groups and the timing of the course allows for real teaching experiences occurring at the same time.

Objectives

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. Identify the basic principles of adult learning theory
2. Utilize and demonstrate the microskills of clinical teaching
3. Analyze teaching skills of others and provide constructive feedback using a systematic process
4. Analyze their own videotaped teaching using a systematic process
5. Generate their own individualized teaching goals
6. Utilize new teaching skills in observed real life teaching situations with more junior medical students (optional)
7. Utilize feedback to enhance their teaching skills
8. Facilitate a teaching for 3rd year medical students during Intersession (optional)
9. Demonstrate improved confidence in teaching

AMSA Medical Education Leadership Institute

Training Tomorrows Teachers Today (T4) is an intensive week-long experience sponsored by the American Medical Student Association (AMSA). The Medical Education Institute is intended to provide AMSA members, who are interested in academic medicine, with practical teaching and leadership skills. Students will be empowered to participate actively in the process of curriculum review and governance, and will be expected to plan and implement a project upon returning to their respective institutions. The Medical Education Leadership Institute was first developed and sponsored jointly by the American Medical Student Association's (AMSA) Medical Education Action Committee and Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM) in 2004 and 2005. The Institute has now become an important yearly course that is jointly sponsored by AMSA and various leading academic institutions around the country.

Medical Education Summer Research

In the summer after the first year of medical school, students may participate in research as part of the Summer Research Program. All students interested in conducting an educational research project, are encouraged to apply.
For information, contact:
Dr. Karen Zier
Associate Dean for Medical Student Research
E-mail: karen.zier@mssm.edu