Surgeons as Educators A Guide for Academic Development and Teaching Excellence

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Educational Strategies

The clearly defined and measurable learning objectives of the curriculum will then
allow specific teaching techniques or educational strategies to be developed for each
of the objectives. After selecting the learning objectives and assessments for the
course, it is important to consider the various instructional activities that could be used
to engage students with the material and enable them to meet the objectives. Of course,
the key is to align instructional strategies with the objectives and assessment tools.
Many instructional strategies are flexible and can be used to address several learning
objectives, but some of them are better suited for a particular set of objectives.
Educational strategies can be considered within two broad categories related to
content and methods of the teaching. Content is the specific material to be included
in the curriculum and this flows directly from the specific measurable objectives.
Methods are the ways in which the curricular content can be presented and should be
selected appropriately for cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning objectives.
It is important to maintain congruence between objectives and methods when devel-
oping these components of the curriculum. To meet different learning styles and
motivations, maintain learner interest, and reinforce the learning process to deepen
understanding and promote retention, it is important to use multiple educational
methods. These educational strategies should be chosen because of their feasibility
in the terms of available resources but also for their effectiveness in learning the skill.
The methods to address cognitive learning are well understood and developed by
educators and include readings, lectures, audiovisual materials, discussion, problem-
solving exercises, programmed or online learning, and assigned learning projects.
Examples of cognitive learning strategies for urology training

Cognitive learning

strategies Urology specific cognitive learning strategy

Readings Campbell’s Urology text

AUA Core Curriculum

Lectures Grand rounds lectures

Visiting professorships to department

Audiovisual materials AUA laparoscopic and robotic surgery teaching videos

Webcast programs available through AUA and other urology specific

organizations

Discussion Morbidity and mortality rounds

Formal teaching sessions with expert faculty

GU oncology rounds, especially with interprofessional participation

Problem-solving

exercises

GU oncology rounds – multidisciplinary review and discussion of

specific clinical cases

Review of specific patient cases – during outpatient clinical work,

ward rounds on operative patients, and review of complications during

morbidity and mortality rounds

AUA clinical problem solving protocols

Morbidity and mortality rounds

Programmed or

online learning

AUA clinical guidelines

AUA clinical problem solving protocols with built-in evaluation

AUA Core Curriculum with built-in self-assessment testing

Assigned learning

projects

Resident assigned grand rounds presentations

Required resident research and/or manuscript development

E.M. McDougall and B. Schwartz