Incorporating Innovative Electronic Teaching Tools Mary Ann Hopkins, MD NYU Medical School

Principles Educational needs come FIRST! IT can support and enhance educational objectives IT should never provide “solutions” to problems that don’t exist!

So what are the needs? Limited exposure to patients’ narrative and faculty Loss of the apprenticeship model Lack of collaborative and cooperative learning Lack of development of leadership skills

Goals Increase student exposure to clinical material Foster collaborative and cooperative environment Create environment for students to demonstrate: –Teaching and leadership skills –Clinical reasoning skills and deep learning

What is Blackboard technology? Web page with the ability to “link” Integrated virtual learning environment Provides an area for asynchronous “conversations” Customizable for the addition of individual preferences

How can Blackboard technology be used? Adjunctive measure to small group sessions Rotating responsibilities –Mandatory participation –Opportunity to lead the discussion Incorporation of Evidence Based Medicine –Students must report articles using PICA format

examples

When using Blackboard… Use pictures of the students Be clear as to what the students will be evaluated on – thought counts, pasting does not! Encourage a conversational tone, thinking out loud Encourage faculty to stay in the background

NYU’s Cyber Classroom What does it give us? Student Benefits –“safe” environment for reticent or shy students –additional exposure to clinical material targeted to weak areas –Frees students to “play on the wards” –Can incorporate multidisciplinary approach –fosters leadership and teaching skills

NYU’s Cyber Classroom What does it give us? Faculty Benefits –Provides a tool to assess the sophistication of the student’s thought process –Fosters a one on one mentorship component with individual students (discussion leader) –Encouraging student - led discussions causes minimal increase in faculty burden

Conversation flow stud centered or faculty centered Student Discussion Leader Tutorial Leader TEACHER CENTEREDSTUDENT CENTERED

Conclusions On line asynchronous learning environment can be an important adjunct to the clinical experience Advanced technology can free the student to return to the old fashioned realm of the clinical wards

THANK YOU!